Blackout
by ladyhachimitsu
Summary: Suzue hadn't wanted anything to do with the people who had been characters in a story she had read in another life. But somehow she ends up on Team 7 and in the middle of the story's plot. Now she has to navigate her way through without making things worst and wondering just how much she remembers applies and how much doesn't. SI/OC
1. Chapter 1 - Not Suppose to Happen

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Own lots of things but Naruto is not one of them. Also Suzue's kekkei genkai is based off an ability found the Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanders, so don't even really own that either...

Warnings: Anxiety, freak outs, minor panic attacks, Naruto normal violence, and not much else for this chapter I think…

Chapter: One – This Was Not Supposed to Happen

* * *

Hagiwara Suzue couldn't help but pause in front of the door to her former classroom. She bit her lip and fiddled with the hem of her skirt before forcing her hands away from it. Instead, they came up and adjusted the new hitai-ate that was still a foreign weight on her forehead. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she made her hands hang limp by her side before taking a deep breath.

She walked into the classroom only to pause again. Suzue let her gaze sweep the room to take in all the former classmates who had passed the academy graduation. Even one Uzumaki Naruto was there. Sitting at a desk in the middle of the room, he had one of his larger grins stretched across his face. She was sure that she was the only class member who found him being in the classroom unsurprising. Though, she did wonder just how many of them knew he 'failed' to begin with. Some of them did at least, as one of the boys paused going to his seat to ask Naruto what he was doing there.

Turning away, the lavender-haired girl noted that her normal seat was free. Suzue gave small smiles and waves at the few classmates who greeted her as she walked to her seat. No one actually stopped her to talk which she was glad for. The twisting in her stomach was bad enough. Interacting with people who she saw as nothing more than acquaintances would be too much.

Pale hands landed on the desk in front of her as she sat down. The fidgeting didn't completely stop as she ended up with her right thumb rubbing the back of her left hand. The preteen let out a sigh, annoyed but decided it was good enough for the time being. She turned her attention elsewhere.

As usual, her eyes found what a fandom of another life had lovingly referred to as the Rookie 9.

Suzue was pretty sure Inuzuka Kiba had been the person who coined that name. But she no longer had access to the needed information to confirm if that was true or not. Regardless of whether it was true or not, she still referred to those nine classmates in her class by that name.

It was somewhat hilarious that they were all sitting in the assigned teams they would be getting. Aburame Shino was sitting in his normal corner staring off into space. Next to him was Hyuuga Hinata hunched in the seat next to him fiddling with her fingers and not looking at anyone. Kiba was sitting next to her but turned to chat with two other boys who were sitting behind him. A couple of rows up had Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji sitting next to each other. Yamanaka Ino was stomping up to the last seat in the row next to Choji.

Suzue watched as the blonde jerked out the chair and collapsed into it. The girl leveled a glare at one Haruno Sakura who had just taken the only seat available next to the Uchiha Sasuke. The pink-haired girl was staring starry-eyed at the dark-haired boy next to her. Said boy was determinedly ignoring everything going on around him. Turquoise colored eyes flicked to the last member of the Rookie 9, Uzumaki Naruto. As she watched, he stood up, knocking his chair over, and hopped up onto the desk to land in front of Sasuke.

Teeth found her bottom lip again as Suzue watched the two boys get into a staring (or glaring) contest. This would be the first and probably only, 'canon' scene she would get to witness. The famous 'kiss' between the two rivals. It was a bit weird to know what was going to happen. Even weirder to have scenes of what was to happen in her mind but still be watching it. Suzue figured she shouldn't be too surprised to find herself with the feeling of deja vu. She watched the Uchiha Fanclub egged Sasuke to kick Naruto's ass.

Then it happened.

Suzue's hands flew up to her mouth to smother the half snort, half giggle that escaped her. It was like seeing someone trip and fall. You have that odd reaction to just laugh at them even though you know you shouldn't be laughing at them because they probably just hurt themselves but you couldn't help it. And seeing that 'kiss' in 'real' life so to speak...it seemed a lot more painful than either the manga or the anime made it seem. It was still amusing to watch their reactions, though. Naruto really was the only one who could make Sasuke lose his cool.

It was less amusing to watch Sakura and a couple of the other girls beat up Naruto for stealing Sasuke's first kiss. If Suzue was a more outgoing person, or even just a better person with the will to back it up, she would have gotten up to stop the beating. But she wasn't. Instead, she sunk in her seat, turned away from the scene to stare at her hands clenched together on top of the desk until someone called that Umino Iruka was coming down the hall.

The physically preteen girl didn't bother to look up as the group broke up and everyone went back to their seats. She still didn't look up as Iruka-sensei got the class quiet and start his last lecture to all of them. Suzue did listen, though. Most of it was review of what they had learned for the last four years they had been at the Academy. Things like: what was expected of them now that they were all shinobi of Konoha, what they should expect going into shinobi corps, and how they were all going to be divided up into teams of three with a jounin sensei leading them. Suzue was actually surprised by how much you need to work as a team, how the jounin might not keep your team, and other small but still useful things in that lecture there were. If one was listening to Iruka-sensei's lecture, then Hatake Kakashi's test shouldn't have come as a surprise. That they would be sent back to the academy yes, as Iruka-sensei said that if their jounin didn't keep them they would be dumped into the genin corps, not back into the academy.

Once the class calmed down from the outburst of not being able to pick their own teammates, Iruka-sensei started listing off the teams. Suzue listened waiting to hear her name and growing more nervous as it wasn't called out. She tried to reassure herself that she was going to be a Team Nine as Iruka-sensei started to call out Team Seven. Any calm she managed to gather was thrown out the window when instead of any of the actual members of Team 7's names being called, her name was called.

"Next is Team Seven. Hagiwara Suzue. Uzumaki Naruto. And Uchiha Sasuke."

"Iruka-sensei! Why does an outstanding shinobi like me have to be on the same team as that prick! Over there!" Naruto shouted pointing at Sasuke who determinedly stared straight ahead, not acknowledging anyone. "And who the hell is Hakihawa Susu?"

The girl in question felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She hadn't even realized that Naruto didn't know who she was, even though they had been in the same class for two years now. This was probably how Hinata felt around Naruto, not something Suzue ever wanted to know.

"It's Hagiwara Suzue, you idiot!" Sakura yelled joining in. "And why does that musclebound freak have to be placed on a team with Sasuke-kun?! He deserves better than her!"

'Musclebound freak?' Suzue mouthed to herself, wide-eyed and finding it difficult to breathe. She knew she had the most visible muscles out of all the girls and even some of the boys in her class. She also knew that girls could be very mean, especially at this age, but Suzue wasn't used to that meanness being directed towards her. But knowing that and knowing that Sakura was just mad that she wasn't on Sasuke's team (even though she was supposed to be on it, not Suzue) didn't stop her eyes from filling up with tears causing her to blink rapidly to try and not burst into tears.

"Sakura, don't be rude. And Suzue scored higher than you, that is why she is on a team with Sasuke, who also scored highest in the class, and why both of them are on a team with you Naruto. You scored the lowest in the class. Do you understand? It's to balance out your low scores Naruto."

"Don't get in my way...deadlast," Sasuke said in a deadpanned tone not even looking at the boy in question.

"What did you say?!" Naruto screamed as he tried to reach the other boy over Sakura who wasn't having any of it.

"Just because I'm not on the same team as Sasuke-kun's doesn't mean I won't let you get away with stuff like this," Sakura shouted at the blond punching him back into his seat.

Suzue hunched in her own seat wondering just how screwed everything was now.

* * *

Lunch found Suzue on the roof of the Academy trying not to have a panic or anxiety attack over team placements. Her arms were crossed over her chest with her fingers digging into her arms as she paced back and forth with her bottom lip caught in her teeth. Worry had her stomach coiled in knots so tight that she couldn't even think about eating her lunch that she had been planning on sharing with her new teammates. But that wasn't happening now.

Sasuke had basically run out of the classroom as soon as Iruka-sensei had dismissed them and Naruto hadn't bothered to seek her out to eat lunch with. Suzue had been planning on at least one of her teammates to approach her to eat lunch with. Had also been planning on her teammates not being characters from a story.

And that was a bit of a problem. She still saw those people she knew from a story as characters, not actual people. In a way, it was a bit like seeing them as celebrities. Famous people you knew were real but didn't really interact in what you viewed as your real world. That was going to have to change, though Suzue wasn't sure how. She hadn't planned on being part of the story at all.

Which was another problem Suzue had obsessed over for more time than it probably deserved. Just how much of the story could she trust? How much had she forgotten? How much had she confused between canon and fandom? Just how much of canon was actually correct? After all Naruto, the manga had been a story for entertainment, not a historical account. One just had to look at the messed up timeline to tell that much. So should she view the manga as historical fiction? Major events were probably right but the details made over dramatic for entertainment value.

And what about the anime? Was anything from there going to factor in? If so, she was doomed because she knew next to nothing about all the subplots and fillers in there. She had only seen half the movies too.

Now that she was on Team Seven instead of Sakura, it brought up even more questions in just how much her future knowledge had changed. And was it for good or bad? Had she just doomed everyone in this world to being killed off by that moon goddess/princess? Because there was no way she was going to become a medic like Sakura from the story. She could barely make it through the first aid classes in the academy so making it through actual medic training? Out of the question. So would Sakura still become the next Tsunade?

Suzue had no answers. She knew the best course of action would be to go up to Sakura and somehow get her to go into medical but after that comment during orientation, there was no way Suzue would have the courage, guts, to go interact with the girl, let alone convince her to go into something that she may not be interested in at the moment.

A whine escaped her lips and Suzue curled into herself in a crouch, hands moving to clutch at her hair as thoughts and questions went around and around in circles. She knew she needed to stop this, or she was just going to drive herself insane, but it was hard. The lavender-haired girl really didn't understand how people could just stop worrying about things at a moment's notice. It also didn't help that her default setting was to worry about everything and then question just what could go wrong; even if she knew that nothing was going to go wrong.

"Hey, musclebound freak!"

It was more startlement of someone calling out to her than the insulting nickname that had her looking up to find that a group of Sasuke's fans had converged on her as she was thinking. Sakura was in the lead and had been the one to call out. Suzue wondered why she of all people would resort to name calling. Hadn't she been a victim of that as a child?

Sakura's cheeks flushed pink to match her hair as Suzue did nothing but stare at the group. The crouched girl just didn't know what to make of the group that was glaring at her or just why they were there.

"We're talking to you, freak!" Sakura shouted hands on her hips. Suzue just blinked unsure what to do or even say.

"Yeah," a girl in a pink jumpsuit stepped forward. "So you better listen."

"Don't think we'll let you get your hands on Sasuke-kun just because you're on the same team as he is," Sakura continued after a moment of awkward silence when they clearly thought Suzue was going to say something. Several of the other girls threw in their two cents about how Sasuke was going to be theirs and she couldn't have him. Turquoise eyes blinked as she processed just what the girls were going on about.

"We're twelve!" Suzue finally blurted out. "Why would I even be looking at Sasuke like that? Or anyone?!"

"I'm thirteen!" Sakura countered like it really made a difference.

"So?"

"You!" Sakura grounded out thrusting a finger at the other girl.

"Just don't go after Sasuke-kun! Just because you had good grades doesn't mean you're good enough for him," one of the other girls ordered.

"I'm not going to," Suzue protested not really believing these girls. "Seriously, why are you all obsessed with the boy?"

A moment later and Suzue regretted asking that question as several of the girls went on to inform her on just what made Sasuke so great. She really didn't get just why all these girls were obsessed with a boy. She hadn't been at this age. Though she hadn't been in a class with a 'cool, cute' boy like Sasuke and maybe she had been a little obsessed with some fictional characters at that age but even with that knowledge she didn't understand.

Feeling overwhelmed by the group and just way too confused, Suzue abused ninja knowledge and performed a kawarimi no jutsu to escape. She then used henge no jutsu to turn into one of the teachers carrying a pile of papers into the building so they wouldn't see where she went. The transformed girl heard various cries of where did she go and saw out of the corner of her eye the group of girls leaning over the railing to see if they could spot her. Once in the building Suzue dropped the transformation and tried to figure out where she could go to hide from the fangirls until it was time to meet their new sensei. After a moment of thought, she headed to the auditorium/gym that was used when it was raining outside. She was also pretty sure it was the place where Lee and Sasuke would have that fight before the chunin exams.

Suzue paused as she debated walking up the wall with chakra or using her kekkei genkai to reach the rafters. A sudden noise made the girl jump and whip around the gym for the source. Seeing nothing and not wanting to be found by anyone, Suzue made her decision and dropped a coin on the floor.

The Kinzoku Idōnin (which she was mostly certain meant metal move person or something like that) kekkei genkai allowed the user to Push and Pull on any form of metal. Depending on the weight of the metal and if it was against something allowed the person to either make the metal come towards or away from them. It also allowed the person themselves to go towards or away from the metal. It was a very useful kekkei genkai to have as a shinobi but the family it hailed from was very small and the only member who was the same age as anyone from that manga was Suzue herself. Which Suzue was sure was the reason why the kekkei genkai had never come up in The Naruto story. It was surprising how many things there were that didn't show up, actually.

Pushing against the coin she had dropped, Suzue made her way up to the rafters to hide out until it was time to meet up with her sensei. Once she settled, she Pulled on the coin so no one would suspect something. Rubbing her eyes to get rid of the lingering tears that had gathered once again, the girl sniffed as her thoughts returned once more to the fact that she was now in the middle of a plot she had wanted to avoid. Well, mostly avoid, had figured she wouldn't be a part of, and just what had she changed to get this result?

Suzue's thoughts were interrupted by the wandering realized that she left her lunch up on the roof making her groan into her knees. Could this day be any worse?

* * *

"AH! You're the purple haired girl!"

Apparently, Naruto did, in fact, know who she was; he just didn't know what her name was. This wasn't making her day any better.

"It's lavender," Suzue muttered sinking into her chair while trying not to pout. They were the last ones in the classroom besides Iruka-sensei who was just preparing to leave. It was the only reason Naruto had even figured out she was the third person on his team.

"Whatever," Naruto wave off. "I guess you're an okay teammate. Sakura-chan would have been better, though."

Suzue sunk further into her chair knowing that Sakura was supposed to be on this team but that she had replaced her. And it hurt that Naruto (the main character) only thought she was okay. Even knowing that Sakura was his crush didn't help ease the pain.

"Dobe," Sasuke threw out not even looking at Naruto who whipped around to growl at him.

"What was that, Teme?!"

"Boys," Iruka-sensei interrupted, "Behave and wait for your jounin-sensei. He should be here soon...I hope."

Suzue was pretty sure they weren't supposed to hear the last part of that.

"What? You're leaving already?" Naruto whined.

"I have other duties to attend to Naruto, so yes, I am leaving. But your new sensei should be here soon, so wait patiently for him alright?"

"Yes Iruka-sensei," Naruto drawled out as he flopped onto a desk.

The scarred man smiled at all of them and then left. It seemed like an eternity sitting there waiting for Kakashi. Sasuke just sat there ignoring them, which was normal for him, and Naruto just kept fidgeting as they waited. Suzue felt like she should do something, talk, get to know her teammates, or run out of the classroom yelling 'I quit!', but she found herself doing nothing. She never seemed to know just what to say or ask to get to know someone anyway, so they all sat in awkward silence for nearly an hour before Naruto let out a frustrated cry and stood up.

The blond boy went to the door and peered out into the hallway to see if their new sensei was just lurking out there for some reason. Suzue actually thought Kakashi would pull something like that, it seemed like a thing his character would do. With more sneaky-ness then just standing outside the door. So was he doing just that?

That thought made the lavender-haired girl look around and focus more on the metal she could sense everywhere. While she couldn't sense chakra, she could sense, or see, where metal was; and every ninja carried metal, even if it was just their hitai-ate. So she could locate people rather easily with that sense but for the most part didn't bother to focus on it since there was metal everywhere, especially in the village. It was a side effect of the Kinzoku Idōnin kekkei genkai.

Either Kakashi knew enough about her kekkei genkai to hide from her senses (which was possible) or he wasn't around watching them. Though at the edge of her sense she caught moving metal that could be their sensei coming towards them. Turning her attention back to the visual world, Suzue saw Naruto hop off the table he was standing on to lodge an erasure into the door. The boy caught her watching him and gave her a cheeky grin.

"It's what he gets for being late!"

"It seems...too simple for a jounin," Suzue said before her brain could throw out what a bad idea speaking was as her eyes glanced back at the prank. And it was always easier to respond to someone that being the one to start something. Except when they were being confusing like Sasuke's Fanclub.

"Hey, it's a classic!" Naruto countered. "And he could come at any minute!"

Suzue noticed the moving metal was drawing closer to the door and nodded. "You're right. I think he's just about here."

"You're a sensor?" Sasuke demanded at that comment, attention turning towards her. Suzue started and turned wide eyes to her dark-haired teammate.

"Sort of? It's not in the normal sense."

"Sensor? What's that?" Naruto asked looking confused.

"Someone who can sense or feel another person's chakra and be able to tell where they are based on that feeling or sense. Most ninja train to have some skill in it but there are a few people who are really skilled in being about to do that. Usually, they're born with that skill, though."

"And you can do that?" Naruto grinned, eyes bright. "That's so cool!"

"No I can't, I do something different," Suzue protested, getting flustered. Naruto inhaled to ask more questions but the girl was saved by the door sliding open and the clatter of the erasure falling onto Kakashi's head.

There was a moment of silence before Naruto burst into laughter saying, "You totally fell for it!"

Suzue had to admit, Kakashi in person didn't cut a very impressive figure. His one lone eye was half lidded like he could barely stay awake, his shoulders were slumped forward adding to the 'I'm tired look', and his uniform looked like he had just thrown it on because it was the closest thing to him when he got up this morning. Add that in with the fact that he let Naruto's prank get him, and yeah, Kakashi didn't seem very awesome.

"I have to say I think my first impression of you all is…I dislike you."

If Suzue had more confidence, courage, or just less anxiety with interacting with others, she probably would have said, 'well at least our impressions could only get better from here on out.' But she wasn't that type of person so the thought stayed as a thought instead of morphing into actual words. It probably would have helped if she had thought of that come back before the moment stretched into awkwardness.

A few minutes later found all four of them up on the academy roof. Suzue noticed that her lunch she had ended up leaving up here was still there. She made a note to retrieve that before they left as they all sat down.

"Well, let's begin with introducing yourselves!" Kakashi started with a grin. There was a beat of silence as Naruto and Suzue shared a glance with each other, Sasuke being 'too cool' to do such a thing.

Hands fisting the hem of her skirt Suzue threw out, "I'm Hagiwara Suzue!" then said nothing else even though she knew what Kakashi was looking for in an introduction. She wasn't sure if she really saw a twitch in Kakashi or if she was just imagining things.

Sasuke caught on next as he said, "Uchiha Sasuke." That seemed to clue Naruto in as his confused looked cleared and he turned to Kakashi with a wide grin.

The blond jabbed his thumb into his chest and introduced, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage!"

All three of them stared expectantly at Kakashi who gave them a lazy blink before exhaling, loudly. "That wasn't I was looking for, but I guess it'll do."

"If that wasn't what you wanted then you should have shown us an example," Naruto shouted at the silver-haired man who looked like he would rather be in his bed then here.

"Mah, maybe," Kakashi drawled with a glance at the sky. "Hatake Kakashi."

"Huh?"

"That's his name dobe," Sasuke pointed.

"I knew that teme!" Naruto shouted back, his cheeks becoming faintly pink.

"Well, that's it for introductions, for now, I guess," Kakashi informed them in a bored tone making the two boys turn to him. "Tomorrow we'll be starting our shinobi duties."

"Sweet! What are they?" Naruto demanded with a wide grin vibrating in his seat.

"Well, the first task will just involve the four of us," Kakashi started.

"What is it? What is it?" Naruto interrupted about to jump out of his seat.

"Survival training."

"Survival training?" Naruto repeated, the eagerness fading from him in his confusion. Suzue clenched her fingers into her skirt and waited for Kakashi to continue.

"This survival training will be different than any training you did in the academy, as I will be your opponent."

"Well, what is it?" Naruto asked again not really getting it. The blond's question just made Kakashi chuckle evilly. And it was a chuckle, not a giggle. "What are you laughing at?!"

"Oh, just that when I tell you guys, you're going to totally freak out is all."

"No way! We won't freak out! Right, guys?" Naruto declared turning to his teammates for support on this. Suzue nodded and Sasuke just glared holes into their new (not really yet) sensei. "See!"

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine of you will move on to be genin. The rest of you will fail and be sent back into the academy. This test has a sixty-six percent failure rate."

Suzue had to admit, Kakashi did creepy rather well. Her back was tensed and her anxiety was higher than normal just from Kakashi informing them about this test, even though she knew what was going to happen. Actually, she was fairly certain that knowing what was going to happen combined with Iruka's lecture this morning was the only reason she wasn't on the verge of having a mental breakdown due to stress.

Pushing that thought aside, the lavender-haired girl turned to her teammates and blinked at the looks of horrors they had on their faces. It seemed they really didn't pay attention to Iruka-sensei's lecture today. Suzue sighed as Kakashi laughed at them.

"See, I told you that you would freak out!"

"No way!" Naruto shouted in protest. "We worked our asses off to pass that test! What was the point of that just to get another one!"

"To see who really had it to be a genin and who was completely hopeless," Kakashi shrugged. "Anyways, you'll have to show your skills in the training ground tomorrow so bring all the weapons you'll think you'll need. Oh, and also don't eat breakfast, you might throw up."

"Only might?" Suzue couldn't help but mutter as Kakashi pulled three sheets of paper from his hip pouch.

"Did I say might? I mean probably will," Kakashi eye-smiled at them as she handed them the papers. "Details are on theses. Make sure to show up on time!"

Suzue felt her face heat up as she realized that Kakashi had heard her. She couldn't bring herself to look at him as she grabbed one of the papers and looked it over. It was mildly surprising to find that the information Kakashi had given them was written as if it really was a mission. Suzue couldn't help but found that to be really cool.

"Well, that's all for the day...so you are all dismissed," Kakashi informed them before vanishing in a whirl of leaves. Suzue watch as the leaves drifted down to the ground before looking back at her paper. More focus on it than her teammates, it took her a moment to realized that they were not next to her anymore. Panic flared to life and she turned around to find them only to see that they were leaving the roof. Teeth caught her lips as she knew the best thing would be to call out to them and suggest going to scope out the training area to make plans for what to do, but she just couldn't get it passed her lips. Then they were gone and she had lost the moment.

Suzue slumped in her spot she was still sitting at, hating herself for not having enough courage to suggest something that was perfectly reasonable and even smart to do. She looked at her 'mission' paper before sighing and deciding to just deal with it all tomorrow morning. Getting up, Suzue left the roof. A few seconds she rushed back onto the roof to snag her lunch before really leaving this time.

* * *

Sleep was hard to come by and wakefulness came too early, but that schedule did allow her to make breakfast bento for herself and her teammates. Suzue was putting a bet on her knowledge of a manga she had read in another life was going to be correct in that Kakashi was just messing with their heads about not eating breakfast. She was also hoping that her teammates would accept and that maybe it would let them bond with each other, allowing them to come up with plans against Kakashi and getting the bells. Not that she was supposed to know that, yet. Surprising, she found that she was the last one to the meeting spot, minus Kakashi, but he didn't count.

"Is that food I smell?" Naruto asked blinking beady eyes at her and nose twitching.

"I... brought breakfast, enough for all of us," Suzue offered as she held out two of the bento, one to each boy.

"He said not to eat breakfast," Sasuke pointed out, eyes narrow as if he was trying to figure out her game plan.

"It was more of a suggestion," Suzue offered still holding out the bento to him. "He just said that we might throw up if we ate, and I don't think that's a good enough reason to skip breakfast and go into a training exercise that we don't have much information on with an empty stomach."

"Are you saying that I should have had ramen for breakfast like I was planning before remembering what Kakashi said? Because that sucks if so, I had to throw out a perfectly good cup of ramen because I forgot that Kakashi told us that," Naruto babbled with a frown on his face.

"Yeah, something like that. I'm sorry about your ramen," Suzue offered more upset by the fact that Naruto had just wasted good food instead of that food being ramen. And he really did eat ramen for breakfast?

"I gave it a worthy funeral so it's alright," Naruto informed her like that was supposed to make it better. Suzue just blinked at him, not sure if he was joking or being serious.

"Dobe," Sasuke let slip.

"Hey, ramen is the food of the gods! It must be shown proper respect! Not something you would know about you-you-"

"Heathen?" Suzue suggested without thinking.

"Yes! You heathen!"

Sasuke just huffed and turned away from Naruto. "He could show up at any minute and we shouldn't be in the middle of eating if that happens."

It took Suzue a moment to realize that he was talking to her. "Oh, well, he was late yesterday. I have feeling that he's going to be late today."

"Seriously?!" Naruto whined. "I hate waiting."

"You and me both," Suzue muttered. "But we can eat in the meantime."

"Well, it's not ramen, but I guess it would be okay. Training on an empty stomach doesn't seem like fun anyways," Naruto reasoned as he grabbed the bento Suzue was still holding and sitting down on the ground with a plop before starting to devour the food.

"What about you? Are you going to eat it or go hungry?" Suzue asked. Sasuke just huffed again but swiped the bento she was holding out to him before sitting as well. Suzue joined them and there was silence as they all focused more on their food than each other.

Nerves settled in Suzue's stomach making it mildly difficult to eat but she pushed through because she hadn't eaten much in the last twenty-four hours due to said nerves. And she figured since she was the one to push the two boys to eat it would be weird to not eat. Sasuke would probably jump to the conclusion she was poisoning him or something.

"This is really good," Naruto commented. "Did your mom make it or something. That's what mom's do right?"

Suzue blinked. "I made it...my mom's dead."

"Ah, really?" Naruto blinked in surprise. "So you live your dad then?"

"He's missing."

"You don't have a family either?" Naruto asked sounding really surprised. His face wrinkled into a confused thoughtful face. "But I remember seeing someone come and pick you up sometimes."

"I have two older siblings; they check up on me when they're in the village. Sometimes they came by after school to take me out to eat or something."

"But you don't live with them?" Sasuke asked, eyes focusing on her like she had just ended up on radar and he hadn't expected it.

"No... I live by myself."

"Why? You have a family," Naruto asked sounding way too confused that someone who had a family would still live by themselves.

"It," Suzue started not sure what to say and not really wanting to talk about it. "It just works better for everyone if I live by myself."

"You're family's weird."

"Did...did your mother teach you to cook?" Sasuke asked making Suzue look up at him in surprise. He wasn't looking at her but his fingers were clench tightly around his chopsticks.

"No, I never knew my mother. My grandmother taught me."

"Hn."

The three of them descended into awkward silence as they went back to eating. Not even Naruto did anything to fill the silence making Suzue fidget with her chopsticks in between bites. Eventually, the only girl couldn't take it anymore and blurt out, "So what do you think Kakashi-sensei's test is going to be and what do you think we should plan for?"

* * *

Five hours later, Kakashi arrived in the clearing to three annoyed preteens who were already tired of being in each other's presences. Trying to plan and predict Kakashi's test without revealing what she knew about the test had stressed Suzue out to the point that she was just done with people for the day already. Not to mention, Sasuke and Naruto did not get along; they fought about everything. So any effort at planning failed as neither could agree on a course of action for the three of them to do. And that was after they spent a large amount of time debating just what the test would be.

Suzue was seriously thinking about having things go as they did in the manga and call it a day. That wasn't what she wanted to do but it would be easier for her. At least she brought breakfast and wasn't having to deal with this on top of being hungry.

"You're late!" Naruto shouted at Kakashi, pointing a finger at him.

"Mah, my alarm clock didn't work this morning," Kakashi offered as a way of explanation. Naruto just gave him a look that clearly said 'Really?'. With a sigh, Suzue followed Kakashi to the three stumps in the training ground where he pulled out an alarm clock and set it on the middle stump.

"Wait, I thought you said your alarm clock wasn't working," Naruto pointed out as Kakashi set it up.

"That was my alarm clock, this is a different one," Kakashi eye-grinned at them. Both Sasuke and Suzue just looked unimpressed with him. "This one is set for noon."

Kakashi pulled out two bells and held them up for them to see. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before the time's up. Those who don't have a bell by noon won't get lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps but I'll also eat said lunch right in front of you."

'He really likes messing with us doesn't he?' Suzue mused to herself as Naruto pointed a finger at Kakashi. "That's why you didn't want us to eat breakfast?!"

"Well, there's still the chance you could throw up," Kakashi shrugged then jingled the bells. "You only have to get one bell. There are only two so one of you will definitely be tied to the stump. And the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So at least one of you will be sent back to the academy."

Suzue bit her lip as the two boys next to her gulped as they suddenly realize the stakes they were playing for. The girl wondered if she really could get the two of them to work with her or not. She was so not good at anything people related in actual practice. And this morning was showing her that she didn't have any skills getting these two to work together.

"If you want you can use shuriken and kunai. You won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill."

"You're joking, right? You couldn't even dodge an eraser! We'll definitely kill you!" Naruto laughed blowing the tension in the air out of the way.

"In the real world, those with no talent often bark the loudest," Kakashi deadpanned. "Well, ignore the deadlast and start when I say."

It only took a second for Naruto to snap at the title of deadlast and attack Kakashi. Even knowing what was happening, Suzue was unable to actually see Kakashi move to place Naruto in a kill hold. Naruto hadn't even taken a step towards Kakashi before the older man was behind the blond with said blond's own kunai pointed at the back of his neck.

"Calm down...I haven't said start yet," Kakashi said in a mild tone as if he couldn't kill Naruto in less than a second. Suzue was actually pretty sure that if the man wanted he could kill all of them without them even realizing it.

"I will say this for you, you did at least come at me with the intent to kill, so you're learning...or finally acknowledging me?" Kakashi mused to himself. "Hehe, it seems like I'm beginning to like you guys. Okay, let's get going. Ready, start!"

In the Academy, they teach the students not just how to perform kata and spar but actually how to fight. How to not flinch when someone attacks you and how not to let adrenaline overtake you in a fight along with what to do when it did overtake you. They even help the students figure out what style of fighting would best suit you. Suzue was a fighter who performed better with an objective in mind and no plan.

One of Suzue's main problems with nearly everything is that she's very prone to overthinking everything to the point where she paralyzes herself with fear or worry. This had actually been noticed early on in her academy career and the teacher at the time had suggested that she just not think. Her fighting ability improved by a lot just on that suggestion.

So, even knowing it was a bad idea and would probably not work, Suzue attacked Kakashi the moment he said to start. Shuriken were launched from her hands and Pushed on with her kekkei genkai so they went faster, all aiming at the bells tied to Kakashi. The silver-haired man's eye widens but he easily caught the weapons. Suzue, however, was already following that up with a low sweep kick that Kakashi easily jumped over. He caught the hand she used to try and grab the bells the moment he was in the air. Upon landing, Kakashi spun, lifting Suzue off the ground by her caught wrist, and threw her across the field towards Naruto who was just standing there yelling something at them. Twisting in mid-air until she was upside down, Suzue opened both her weapon pouches on her thighs letting the dozen shuriken kept there to fall out into the air. She Pushed on them to head towards Kakashi who drew a kunai and deflected all of them with ease. The lavender-haired girl continued her twist to landed on the ground and focused on the metal now scattered around Kakashi trying to figure out if she could use them again to get the bells.

Naruto, apparently deciding that he had enough of just standing around yelling, entered the fight with a punch to Kakashi's face. Or at least that was his intention but Kakashi had easily blocked the fist. With a growl of frustration, Naruto readjusted himself to throw a kick at Kakashi's head instead only to have the older man crouch down with no effort to avoid. By this point, Naruto had to land on the ground again, but he was back on the attack readying another punch. In a blink, Kakashi was behind Naruto with his fingers in the Tora seal.

Suzue blinked as she realized what was about to happen to Naruto and wildly looked around to figure out how to prevent this from happening. As funny as she remembered it being in a manga, real life was something different and she really didn't want to see Kakashi poke Naruto in the ass for real. Kakashi's new spot put him in the perfect position for half her fallen weapons and she Pulled on them. The shuriken leap from the ground heading directly towards Kakashi on their way back to her. He was forced to abandon his plan to jump out of the way or be impaled with six sharp weapons.

Allowing them to continue all the way back to her, Suzue caught them with practiced ease before throwing them back at Kakashi as she Pulled the other set back to her to do the same thing. But before she could throw her next set Kakashi was gone from the spot. An intake of breath and Suzue realized that there was metal behind her. She tried to spin around so that she had Kakashi in front of her instead of behind her but she was too slow. He held the kunai he had used to deflect all her earlier weapons against her neck.

The girl tensed before forcing herself to relax. She had to be ready to move. She also started Pushing on the kunai. Not hard enough that Kakashi would be forced to take it away, but enough that it seemed like she was trying to do just that.

"You know, I half expected Naruto to do what you did. Generally, the smart thing would have been to hide and come up with a plan," Kakashi mused.

"He did what you expected of him, I just beat him to it," Suzue said as she tracked all the metal around her. Naruto was staying in one spot, Sasuke was up in a tree to their right, and there was a lot of discarded weapons lying around. Now could she use any of them to her advantage?

"Well, I had been planning on teaching you Shinobi lesson number two, Genjutsu but I guess you and Naruto will both get Shinobi lesson number one, Taijutsu."

"No Shinobi lesson on weapons?"

"Lesson number four that I hadn't even thought I would teach today," Kakashi said in a happy tone. "You're surprisingly good with them. For a freshly graduated genin."

Suzue felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment.

"Caught you Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto's voice interrupted. "Now let Suzue-chan go!"

Taking the moment of distraction, Suzue Pushed full force on the kunai in Kakashi's hand. His whole arm went flying out in an arch with the force and the kunai itself was ripped from his hand and sent flying off to hit a Naruto in the head. Said Naruto burst into smoke.

"Hey!" Naruto protested in multiple voices, and Suzue realized that Naruto had used Shadow Clones and was ambushing Kakashi. Taking the opening after a moment of surprise, and realization that she could not tell where any of the clones were by tracking metal, Suzue spun going for the bells. Just before she could grab them she noticed that she could no longer sense the bells that she was staring at. In fact, she could no longer sense any of the metal on the Kakashi in front of her. Only Naruto who was holding onto Kakashi's back.

Her fist went through the bells revealing they were a genjutsu and was pulling her hand back to make the sign for a chakra burst to destroy it but Naruto punched false Kakashi before she could follow through. In Kakashi's place was a Naruto clone that burst with the punch.

"You're Kakashi-sensei aren't you?! You used henge no jutsu to transform!" one Naruto declared pointing at one clone. Suzue watch as all the clones proceeded to get into a brawl over who was really Kakashi-sensei. With a sigh, Suzue turned her attention to locating their sensei and found him in a tree to her left. He was either getting better at figuring out what she could and could not do with her kekkei genkai or he had just gotten lucky with his chosen spot as there was nothing around him she could use to attack.

"He's not here..."

Suzue turned to see that Naruto had dropped all the clones to find that Kakashi wasn't anywhere in the field. He then peered at her suspiciously.

"You're not Kakashi-sensei are you?" Suzue shook her head and watched Naruto in case he decided that she was lying and attacked her. "Man, even with both of us we couldn't get him."

Suzue sighed and turned away from him once it was apparent that he wasn't going to think that she was Kakashi. The girl had figured that her 'just attack plan' wouldn't have worked and this fight had shown her that she was going to have a hard time working with Naruto for the foreseeable future. He didn't plan for anyone but himself and his clones. His fighting style was really bad too. She could see it actually working for the blond but at the moment he wasn't using it right. Too much wasted movements and giving up too much defense for an attack. Still that plan had been a good one and probably would have worked on anyone who wasn't an elite jounin.

"A bell!" Naruto suddenly shouted making Suzue jerk out of her thoughts. "It's mine! He must have been desperate to escape if he dropped a bell!"

The lavender-haired girl blinked as she realized that what she had mistaken for a discarded weapon was, in fact, a bell laying on the ground. Then it dawned on her that the bells were metal, she could Pull them towards her at any time.

'I'm an idiot,' Suzue thought as she facepalmed. A yell made her glance through her fingers at a now swing Naruto who was shouting once again. 'And so is he.'

From what she remembered of the bell test that happened in a manga she had read, Kakashi would have taunted Naruto and Sasuke revealed his position to take advantage of what appeared to be a golden opportunity making him have to run for it. At least she was pretty sure something like that happened with the added bonus of Naruto trying to steal their lunches. Sakura had been tested with genjutsu but Suzue wasn't Sakura and given what Kakashi had said she wasn't sure if he would do the same thing to her.

An idea bloomed in her mind, she just needed to gather the courage to go talk to Sasuke about it. Right at this moment. Swallowing and wishing she had different teammates because she was not a leader and didn't want to be the one in charge, which is what she felt like to her, Suzue went through the handseals for a kawarimi no jutsu and landed on a branch above the dark haired boy. He launched a kunai at her which she caught and handed back to him hilt first. He took it slowly, eyeing her warily.

"What?" he asked in a low tone.

"All three of us need to work together to get the bells," Suzue said in a rush, using the same low tones so their voices wouldn't carry.

"I don't need you or that idiot," Sasuke hissed. Suzue bit her lip to keep from sighing. This would be the reason why she didn't want to do this.

"That outlook is going to get you killed on the first mission you go on," Suzue pointed out keeping her hands gripping the branches so she couldn't fidget with them. Her stomach turned into knots as Sasuke just glowered at her. "Look I can get the bells, I just need Kakashi distracted and between you and Naruto he should be distracted enough. Also, I think you're skilled enough to accommodate for Naruto's...style."

"And who gets the bells? There are only two," Sasuke pointed out as he turned towards the flash of silver that had suddenly appeared. Kakashi was now taunting Naruto.

"You and Naruto," Suzue offered without missing a beat. She pulled off her hitai-ate and held it out to him. "You can keep this as assurance that I'll give you a bell."

The boy stared at the hitai-ate for a long moment before letting out a noise of disgust and turned back to Kakashi and Naruto. "Keep it, I'll just take your word. But if I do get a bell then the deals off and you stuck with the idiot."

"Fine, have fun," Suzue agreed as she tied the band back on and jumped out of the tree. Sasuke attacked Kakashi in a moment of apparent weakness only to have the adult pull the same trick he had used on Naruto. The last Uchiha cursed and ran off. Suzue took a moment to track Sasuke and find Kakashi. He was farther out than she would have thought and was heading off towards where Sasuke was heading.

With a sigh, Suzue walked back out to the field to talk to Naruto who was slowly spinning in the rope trap he was currently trapped in. He caught sight of her and the blond flailed making himself spin faster.

"Suzue-chan! What are you doing back here?"

"I have a plan to get the bells but need your help."

"Huh? My help? But aren't we supposed to get the bells on our own? And, well, our combo attack didn't work that well either," Naruto rambled as he continued to spin. Suzue had that passing wonderment of if he was getting dizzy or not.

"Kakashi never said we couldn't work together," Suzue pointed out as her fingers pick at the hem of her skirt. "And Sasuke's going to help us, but we need to hurry."

"But there's only two bells! Who gets a bell if we all work to get them?" Naruto pointed out.

"You and Sasuke, I can live with another year at the academy," Suzue shrugged. "Are you in or not?"

"Alright," Naruto said slowly with a frown. He pulled out a kunai and reached up to cut the rope. "But I think you should keep a bell and not give one to Sasuke-teme."

"Wait-"

Too late, Naruto cut the rope, landed, and was promptly caught in another trap. Suzue facepalmed as Naruto screeched about the unfairness of there being two traps. Peeking through her fingers, the lavender-haired girl asked, "Aren't you supposed to be a pranking master? How could someone with that title fall for such a prank as this one?"

Naruto was spinning again and looked way too bewildered. "You're right...this was totally a prank. Well, he's not getting away with this! If he wants pranks, I'll show him pranks."

After giving the ground an evil eye, Naruto cut himself down and was about to run into the forest to look for Kakashi when he paused and looked back at Suzue. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Kakashi-sensei is would you?"

"Just follow me," Suzue said and took off into the woods.

* * *

Watching Sasuke go at it with Kakashi did show her that Sasuke at least knew what he was doing. Kakashi had to pay more attention to him than he had with her and Naruto, not by much though which sent a bit of pride into her. Suzue watched, waiting for the perfect moment when she could pull the bells to her. The girl had a brief thought that she could do this on her own but had figured Kakashi was simply too skilled and would notice the bells too soon for her to get her hands on them.

Sasuke's hand was reaching for the bells and Kakashi had just realized that he had no free hands to deflect Sasuke's grab. It got worse as several Naruto clones suddenly burst from the trees and bushes around the two pulling off a similar attack to his earlier one. In that moment, Suzue Pulled on the bells and they came flying towards her as Kakashi dealt with the two boys. The girl was surprised it actually worked and she caught the bells in her hand.

Looking up, Suzue saw that Kakashi had disposed all the Naruto clones and had thrown the original along with Sasuke across the clearing so that they landed on top of each other. A brief argument and Sasuke pushed Naruto out of the way to start a jutsu only to pause as he took Kakashi in. Or rather, he noticed the lack of bells.

"Hn, it actually worked," Sasuke noted a smirk crawling onto his face. Naruto blinked as he processed what that meant then he too grin.

"Haha, of course, it's because we're awesome!"

"Ah," Kakashi hummed as he too noticed the lack of bells. "Well, it seemed like you three worked together to get the bells, or one of you just saw an opportunity and took it. So I wonder...which is it?"

"We totally worked together!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at the silver-haired man.

"Then let's see if that's true or not," Kakashi eye-smiled and Suzue had a bad feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with her normal nerves. She slipped the bells in her hip pouch while pulling out a handful of shuriken as the tall man said, "So can the three of you keep the bells out of my hands until the bell rings?"

That was the only warning Suzue got before Kakashi was suddenly in front of her. She pulled out a kunai with her other hand and swiped at Kakashi's face with it as he did an eye scan of her trying to figure out where she stashed the bells. Distantly, Suzue heard the yells of the boys as she dropped one shuriken and tossed the rest point blank at the silver haired man who dodged or caught them. She Pushed on the dropped shuriken and shot straight up into the air as high as she could get.

A moment later had Kakashi jumping out of the tree up at her, and humans should not be able to jump that high. Panicked, Suzue lost her balance and tipped over which was probably the only reason Kakashi missed grabbing her. Scrambling to find another anchor before crashing to the ground, she Pulled on a piece of metal to get out of reach of Kakashi before Pushing on another to send her back into the air. Since Kakashi didn't have the same ability as her, he was limited to just how much he could move around in the air. Thus he had to fall back to the ground before launching himself back up to where she was now.

That was probably what he had been planning but the sudden large orange spot that had appeared put a damper on Kakashi's plans. Hopefully, Sasuke was in the midst helping Naruto distract Kakashi from her. Standing in the middle of the air was not the best place to hide but it allowed more movability for Suzue.

With Kakashi busy for the moment with the boys, Suzue wondered what to do. There was enough discarded metal around in the training ground that she could, for the most part, keep herself in the air, problem was that Kakashi had proven that he could jump high enough to get to her with her only using a kunai or a shuriken as an anchor. She would need a larger source of metal to anchor to if she wanted to go higher. Just her luck that there was such a place in the training field.

The memorial stone wasn't just made out of stone, there was also a large amount of metal on or in it as well. The only question remaining was rather Kakashi could jump high enough to reach her. Hopefully not or she was going to be playing a game of cat and mouse with him. Latching onto a nearby piece of metal, Suzue Pulled herself towards it before Pushing off it and Pulling herself to another piece of metal. It took barely a minute to reach the memorial stone and she Pushed on it till she was tittering at the highest point she could without losing the anchor completely.

Fear of heights lost its powers when one could Push and Pull on metal to keep from going splat on the ground. Suzue took a moment to admire the view before glancing back down to the ground to see if she could actually see her teammates and sensei, not just sense where moving metal was. Seemed like the boys had lost their battle and Kakashi was heading towards her. He strolled into the field and looked up at her. He was too far away for her to tell what his expression was and with the facemask, she couldn't even tell if he was talking to her or not.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Kakashi reached into his hip pouch. A second later and he launched a handful of shuriken up at her. Instead of risking her position by catching them all, Suzue just Pushed on all of them, causing them to switch direction mid-air and go raining back down on him. With an ease that just showed how long he had been a ninja, Kakashi caught all of them. He eyed them before looking back up at Suzue.

Before he could do anything else, Sasuke and Naruto appeared from the trees and attacked. Suzue was pretty sure they were just trying to keep Kakashi busy and focused on them than on her. Still, she had been right about Sasuke being able to adjust for Naruto. The blond, on the other hand, was very much a wild child and just caused a lot of chaos for everyone to deal with.

It was only a few minutes before the alarm rang sounding the end of the test.

The lavender-haired girl hesitated for a moment before dropping the tether and plunging to the ground. She caught herself on the anchor again before she hit the memorial and slowly lowered herself to it then jumping to the ground. The boys had gathered around and with a wary eye on Kakashi, Suzue fished the two bells out to give one to each of the boys. Naruto was grinning like a loon and Sasuke had a smirk playing on his lips.

"Mah, that was interesting," Kakashi drawled as he watched them. "I really didn't expect any of you to get the bells, but I guess that's what I get for underestimating Suzue-chan's kekkei genkai."

"Hell ya! Suzue-chan is totally awesome and we kicked your ass!" Naruto crowed.

"Yet she's the one who's going to be sent back to the academy," Kakashi pointed out. "And won't get lunch."

"Really?! But that's so unfair!" Naruto complained. "She was totally awesome and we wouldn't have gotten the bells without her. Couldn't she pass too and be on the same team as us? We would make a kick ass team! Even with the teme on it."

"Rules are rules, she doesn't have a bell, therefore she has to go back," Kakashi said with a shrug.

"Screw the rules! Right Sasuke? We all disserve the pass."

"Hn, the dobe is right," Sasuke agreed. "We should all pass."

"Is that so?" Kakashi hummed. "So you think you should all pass or all fail?"

"Yes," both boys said at the same time.

"What do you think Suzue-chan? Do you think all of you should pass even though you were the one to do all the work in getting and keeping the bells?"

For a moment, Suzue was tempted to quote Obito and say that those who abandon the rules were trash but those who abandon their comrades were worse than trash. But that seemed like pulling a dragon's tail so she settled on something different.

"I think that you've been trying to play us off each other and that the test all along was to see if we could work together even when it seemed better not to. It was always, we all pass or we all fail, there was no in between."

"Figured that all out did you?" Kakashi eye-smiled at her.

"It wasn't that hard," Suzue muttered feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Iruka-sensei pretty much told us something like this would happen during orientation yesterday."

"He did?" Naruto asked head tilting to the side in confusion. Sasuke, on the other hand, had his eyes go wide and a faint pink appeared on his cheeks as he realizes that she was right. He looked away from the group with a huff. Suzue bit her lip to keep from laughing at the Uchiha before giving Naruto a nod.

"Well then. There is only one course left," Kakashi began looking all three of them gravely, "You...PASS!"

A moment of silence then Naruto let out a whoop and tackled hugged Sasuke in joy. In retaliation, Sasuke elbowed the orange-loving shinobi in the ribs, hard, if the gasp Naruto let out was any indication. Suzue felt her own lips turning upward in a grin. Somehow it had all worked out.

"You three are the first team to have not only gotten their hands on the bells but figured out the test," Kakashi told them. "So remember, those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash...but, those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash."

"Yes, sensei," Suzue nodded.

"Great! And that ends the training. All of you pass! So starting tomorrow Team Seven will begin its duties!" Kakashi informed them with a thumbs up, Suzue wondered if he got that from Gai.

"Yay! Ninja! We did it!" Naruto cheered dancing around all of them.

"Let's go," Kakashi ordered and Sasuke and Suzue fell in with him. It took Naruto a moment to realize that he was being left behind and came running up to them with a cry.

"Wait up!"

"You can catch up Naruto-kun," Suzue called back still riding on the high of having pass Kakashi's test.

"You could have waited," Naruto grumbled as he caught up to them. The thrill of passing wouldn't be put down and Naruto was once again grinning at everything. "Hey, let's all go get ramen for lunch to celebrate!"

"There's other foods besides ramen," Sasuke taunted. Leading the two of them to get into an argument about food of all things.

Somehow, all four of them did, in fact, end up at Ramen Ichiraku for lunch.

* * *

Author Note: Welcome to Blackout, the latest reincarnated SI/OC in Naruto fandom. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to more. Next chapter should be out by next Sunday, 25 September.


	2. Chapter 2 - Wave Arc Part One

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Own lots of things but Naruto is not one of them.

Warnings: Anxiety, freak outs, minor panic attacks, and not much else for this chapter I think…

Chapter: Two– Wave Arc Part One

* * *

Naruto lasted a month before he snapped and demanded they get a better mission. Not that Suzue could blame him much as some of their missions were...not what she was expecting when it came to D-Rank Missions.

The manga, Naruto, had only shown the tail end of the 'infamous' Tora Mission. No other D-Rank Missions were ever seen done by Team Seven in the manga. The anime, on the other hand, had shown a handful of some D-Rank Missions that Suzue could not remember for the life of her besides the one requiring the team to walk the Inuzuka dogs. Which they actually did.

Thing was that D-Rank Missions weren't all, 'oh do this in a couple of hours and you can do multiple in a day' that most of the Naruto fandom thought they were. The Walking Inuzuka dogs mission was actually a week long mission where one walked the dogs twice a day. The only other thing they did that week was teambuilding exercises, even though the actual time the spent on the mission was maybe two hours.

Another was a babysitting mission they had done. It hadn't been 'watch my kid for a couple of hours', it had been 'I'm going to be out of the village for three days, so watch my kid for those three days'. (She and Sasuke had sworn to never, ever take on a babysitting mission with Naruto ever again. They were not going to responsible for starting a cult following.) Suzue was discovering that most of the D-Rank Missions ran like this and it suddenly made sense on just why 'Word-of-God' had Team Seven's D-Rank Mission as only seven. Theses missions took more time than people thought.

The Tora Mission was the one that made Naruto snap. Suzue would never have guessed that it took Team Seven nearly four days to complete said mission. They spent those four days from sunup to sundown looking for the cat. They also had to wait for Kakashi-sensei a couple of hours each day but, by this point, Team Seven had resigned themselves to this fate. The three of them tried to be proactive during the wait time. And since they had been on a mission during at the time, they tried figuring out where the cat was.

They ended up catching Tora early enough on the four-day that they could pick up another D-Rank Mission afterward, which Suzue thought was why most of the Naruto fandom thought that genin teams did multiple D-Rank Missions a day. As the Hokage listed what missions were available for them to take, Naruto interrupted, loudly.

"No, no, no!" Naruto shouted crossing his arms in front of him. "No more! We are not going to do any more of these lame-ass missions! Find us something better!"

'I had forgotten how embarrassing this could be in actual life,' Suzue thought as she felt her face heat up at the scene Naruto was causing. She wished she knew a Doton Jutsu so she could just sink into the ground, but, sadly, she didn't. Instead, she moved backward until she was mostly hidden behind Sasuke. He gave her a glance but let it be.

"Naruto! Everyone starts at the bottom and work their way up!" Iruka snapped.

"But everything we get is crappy! The crappiest of crappy!" Naruto shouted back.

"Be quiet you," Kakashi ordered while giving Naruto a head slap.

"Well, Naruto seems like you need an explanation about these duties are all about," the Hokage started before giving a long-winded explanation of missions and how they were divided up. Suzue could totally understand why, about half way through it, Naruto just plopped himself on the ground and started thinking about ramen. She was half tempted to join him. The lecture was really long-winded.

"Are you even listening?!"

"Geez, all you do is lector. But you know what! I'm not that screw up little boy who ran around doing pranks anymore!" Naruto explained as he turned his attention back to them.

"...Okay then. If you want it that much, I'll, give you a C-Rank Mission," the Hokage caved. Suzue peered suspiciously at their Hokage from over Sasuke's shoulders. Even though she knew this had happened in the story, it still seemed hard to believe that he had just given in like that to Naruto. She was sure if anyone else had pulled a stunt like that it wouldn't have gone over nearly as well.

"Bad parenting skills," Suzue muttered to herself as the Hokage called for their client to be sent in. Sasuke gave her an odd look causing her to give him a sheepish smile and waved him off.

"Are these brats really going to be protecting me? Don't look like much especially the short one with the stupid face. Are you all really ninja?"

"Haha, short one?" Naruto repeated as he looked at his teammates and realized that both of them were taller than him. "I'll kill you!"

"You can't kill the guy you're supposed to protect," Kakashi sighed as he caught Naruto by the back of his jacket.

"At least not until the mission's completed and he's paid," Suzue muttered making Sasuke, who she was still hiding behind, twitch.

Kakashi got Naruto under control and set up to meet their client, Tazuna the Bridge Builder, tomorrow morning right after dawn to start their mission. Tazuna agreed to the time before wondering off. The silver-haired jounin then turned to them and asked if any of them need help packing for the long trip. All three of them shook their heads no before Kakashi dismissed them to go prepare for the long mission.

And it was going to be a long mission. At least a month with it taking just over a week to make it to Wave Country, then however long it would take for Tazuna to finish the bridge. That only had a project time of a month but the contract said that time could be extended if the client wished. Coming back home would be quicker because they wouldn't have a civilian client to match speed too. It would mostly likely be just under a week as opposed to half the time as Team Seven was not used to traveling long distances...yet.

Suzue waved bye to her team before heading home to pack and not have the panic attack that wanted to happen because 'it's-the-wave-mission!-i'm-going-to-mess-something-up-and-we're-all-going-to-die!' was running through her head. She didn't get much sleep that night.

* * *

Apparently, even on 'official' missions, Kakashi was late. Though to be fair, he was only ten minutes late as opposed to hours late, but still. Naruto was a bouncing ball of energy as he informed them that he had never been out of the village.

"Are you sure I'm really safe with him?" Tazuna asked Kakashi who looked like he just wanted to drop dead. Suzue had never really thought about just how lazy he was. Maybe that fan theory about his mom being a Nara was true? Or was it his grandmother...?

"I'm an elite jounin. You don't have anything to worry about," Kakashi informed him. It sounded rehearsed.

"Hey Old Man! Don't mess with ninja! I'm incredible!" Naruto shouted at their client. "One day, I will take on the super elite ninja title, Hokage! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"

"Hokage is the head ninja, right?" Tazuna mused as he took another sip of his alcohol. "I doubt someone like you could become it..."

"Shut up! I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage! Once I become Hokage, you will acknowledge me!"

"No, I won't, you brat. Even if you did become Hokage."

"I'll kill you!"

"I said no," Kakashi repeated as he grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket to stop him from attacking Tazuna.

Suzue sighed and shared a look with Sasuke. This week was going to drag. Hopefully, Naruto will get over proving himself to the client and they would get some peace.

* * *

Traveling in the Naruto world was interesting. Cars were an actual thing but very, very rare and limited to specific countries. There was also no roads that would support cars using them outside those specific locations. Trains were in the same category. The majority of boats never seemed to make it pass early 1800s technology and were an odd mix of western style and eastern style from her life before. There were a few boats that seemed to have made it past that but they were limited to some rich island county in the south.

With all the limitations of more 'modern' transportation in this world, most people walked everywhere. If you were transporting something you would use wagons drawn by oxen or horses. If you were rich then you used carriages to travel. But common people walked. As a result, towns grew around points along major roads at about what a civilian could walk to in a day. So unlike what she remembered most stories about the Naruto world saying that they camped everywhere when they left the village, they stayed at cheap inns every night. And cheap meant just borrowing floor space in a large room to sleep together in using their own bedrolls.

Suzue, who had been expecting to camp most nights on their trip, thought this system was really cool. Enough so that she got enough courage to ask Kakashi about it.

"The system is mostly used for civilians, not ninja," Kakashi answered their first night as they settled down. "On the way back we'll most likely be camping every night. Which will be good practice for the three of you."

"Camping would be cool," Naruto noted. "I liked the camping trips from the academy."

"So, are we setting a watch, even though we're in an inn?" Suzue asked looking around the room. They happened to be the only ones using it for the night.

"Of course! You never know just when you'll be attacked," Kakashi cheerfully informed them before helping them set up a watch schedule.

* * *

Nothing overly exciting happened, and Naruto did calm down from 'I-must-prove-myself' by the second day. Though, that could be because Kakashi had him pull middle watch the night before. It was on the third day of their travels that Suzue noticed something. At first, she didn't think anything of it. Therefore didn't mention anything about it.

That night, though, she started to worry about it.

Suzue could sense all the metal around her for just over two kilometers. In a village, town, or some other large gathering of people, it wasn't overly useful as there was just too much metal around her to really tell what was what. She could shift through it if she had too but that took effort on her part. Walking along the road where there was next to no metal around, she was much more aware of it.

When they had left Konoha she had picked up a couple of ninja going to and coming from Konoha. One of which she thought had been an ANBU squad who had appeared in her sensing range for a second then disappeared. As her group traveled further from Konoha, the fewer ninja she would pick up on. The third day as they left the town they had stayed in, she noticed two ninja with a lot of metal on them also leave. They would weave in and out of her sense nearly all day long and entered the same town they ended up staying at that night.

Suzue wasn't sure if they really were following them or if it was just a coincidence that they were taking the same path. Knowing what was to happen on the mission had led her to believe that it might be the Demon Brothers tailing them. Problem was that she wasn't sure whether or not to bring it up to Kakashi or not. She should but they hadn't known they were being tailed in the story. So did she trust in a fictional story or forge her own path?

She ended up not saying anything, too conflicted to make a choice. Nerves and anxiety left her with a bout of insomnia that night; much to her annoyance the next morning.

She picked up the same pair in her sensing range follow them the next day when they left. Still not making a move. When they stopped for the night in yet another cheap inn, Kakashi ended up confronting her about her sudden increase of nerves.

"Suzue-chan, is there something wrong?" Kakashi asked after sending the boys and Tazuna to the baths.

(Kakashi was praying that his female student hadn't just started her female monthly as he did not want to deal with that, ever. If he was lucky she would start when they happened to be in the village and could go talk to someone, not him, about it.)

"I...I think we're being followed," Suzue admitted with a flush.

"For how long?"

"Two days now…" Suzue confessed in a low tone looking to the ground.

"And you're only now reporting it?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow. Suzue's blush deepened as guilty started knotting her stomach. She knew better than to keep this kind of information to herself, but...

"I-I wasn't sure at first," Suzue nearly whispered not looking up at her sensei, more interested in staring at the ground. "But they followed us again today..."

"Do you know how many?" Kakashi questioned.

"I think there's only two. They wear a lot more metal than most shinobi do," Suzue answered still not looking up at her sensei.

Kakashi let out a sigh before resting a hand on top of Suzue's head. He crouched down so he was more on her level and made her look up at him.

"Suzue," Kakashi started once he had her eyes on his face. "It's important to share information like this with your team as soon as you get it. What if these two had attacked before now? We would have no warning at all because you kept it to yourself."

"I would have said something if they started heading towards us," Suzue protested though she really wasn't sure if she would have. She blinked rapidly in an effort to not cry from the reprimand she was getting. She knew better, so deserved it, but that didn't stop the horrible feelings that came from it.

"I'm sure you would have, but that's not the point here," Kakashi countered. "The point is, you kept information to yourself instead of sharing it, therefore endangering your team. Remember, those who break the rules are trash, but those who don't take of their comrades..."

"Are lower than trash," Suzue quoted softly. To her greatest embarrassment, she felt tears sliding down her face. Horrified that she was now crying in front of Kakashi of all people (or really just anyone for that matter), Suzue ducked her head down before whipping the tears away with her sleeve. Breathing became harder as she tried to keep her breathing even in an effort to not burst into sobs.

"There, there," Kakashi said as he patted her head. Suzue wasn't sure if it was her imagination that made him sound awkward or he really was feeling awkward about this. "No need to cry over it. You're still learning after all. That's why genin have jonin-sensei's at first."

"S-sorry," Suzue choked out in a low tone. She wasn't even sure he could hear her. "I-I won't let it ... won't let it happen again."

"Good," Kakashi said firmly with one last pat on her head. "Now how about you go take your own bath and get clean up. I'm sure you'll feel better after a bit of a soak."

Suzue gave a quick nod before fleeing to go do as he suggested. She was glad there was no one else in the bathing area as she gave into sobs once inside. Kakashi had been right in that she did feel better after cleaning up, it didn't stop the guilt that now sat heavy in her stomach but that should go away...eventually.

The lavender-haired girl also had to acknowledge that with just her mere presentence she had changed how the Wave Mission was going to be. In the story, no one had been a sensor of any type so no one was expected to pick up tails and the like. She was a sensor, even if it wasn't in the traditional sense, therefore was expected to pick up things like this. So the ambush of the Demon Brothers was going to go differently than in 'canon'.

Even the battle with Zabuza was going to go differently because she was going to be able to sense him coming. He did carry a huge metal sword on his back after all. And what about Haku? Would she be able to pick him out? Probably as he was a ninja and more than likely wore metal. Suzue was pretty sure he wore a mist hitai-ate at least.

Feeling exhausted from the emotional outburst and worrying over what was going to happen now, Suzue entered their room to hear Naruto complaining about having middle watch...again.

"Come on, Teme could do it. Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you have the most energy," Sasuke answered in a bored tone. "Or are you saying you can't do it?"

"I can too! I bet you can't though! You do need your beauty sleep after all," Naruto shot back.

"Welcome back, Suzue-chan," Kakashi greeted pulling the two boys from their argument. "I believe there was something you wanted to share with the boys?"

Suzue froze as she realized that Kakashi hadn't told them the information she had gathered. Said boys turned their attention fully to her and the only girl had to fight to keep her breathing normal. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't get anything out.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto prompted in a curious tone.

"Ah," Suzue got out before ducking her head so she wasn't looking at the two of them or their client who was watching the whole thing curiously. In a rush, she managed, "I think we might have a tail."

"What?" Naruto blinked.

"She said we might have a tail," Sasuke repeated for the blond. "Dobe."

"I got that!" Naruto snapped at the other boy. "So Suzue-chan thinks someone's following us? Does that mean we're going to fight?"

"Mah, maybe," Kakashi drawled. "There's a chance they're not following us but it's really slim. Right, Suzue-chan?"

The girl just nodded as she made her way to her bedroll, not looking at anyone.

"Are they shinobi? And how many?" Sasuke asked.

"Suzue-chan?" Kakashi called out when she didn't answer.

"I'm fairly certain they're shinobi as they were Tree Hopping. And I think there's only two of them. They stick too close together and keep to the furthest reaches of my sensing ability to say for sure. But there is more than one for sure."

"Huh? Are they really after us, though? I mean, we're only protecting the Old Man from bandits, right?" Naruto questioned. "And what ninja would want to go after the Old Drunk?"

"Yep, only bandits and their like," Tazuna agreed with a swing of his latest bottle of alcohol. He picked up a new one in every town they stopped at.

"That's what the contract states," Kakashi nodded with a look at the old man.

"What happens if shinobi do attack us? Does it break the contract?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Depends, if the ninja prove to be too much for the four of us to handle then we might have to break the contract to get a higher ranking team. If not, then we can carry on with the mission though Tazuna might be getting a higher bill. After all, we weren't expecting shinobi to be attacking a bridge builder."

"I wasn't either," Tazuna said curtly before taking another swing of his bottle. He wasn't looking at any of them.

"And even though Suzue-chan said these two were Tree Hopping, they might not be actual shinobi. They could very well be drop outs who learned enough to do something like that but not much else," Kakashi continued with an eye grin. "So we just need to keep an eye on the situation and see what happens. Unexpected things like this do pop up in missions. A good shinobi should be able to adjust for such things."

"Yes, Sensei," all three of the genin chorused.

"Great! Now bed for all of you except Sasuke who has first watch. Suzue-chan you have the last watch," Kakashi ordered. Suzue nodded at him before climbing into bed. This time, she fell asleep quickly, too tired to worry about much of anything at the moment.

* * *

The two shinobi following them did nothing the fifth day either and that night, Suzue dutifully reported that they were still following them. The day afterward, however, the two shinobi made their move. Around lunch time she noticed the two of them shooting ahead of the group and disappearing from her senses. Kakashi ordered her to inform them the moment they popped back up if they did. About mid-afternoon, had Suzue stopping as she picked them back up.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto asked as the rest of the group came to a stop.

"They're just up ahead. About two kilometers standing just off to the side of the road," Suzue reported then bit her lip before adding, "I think they're just standing there? The...metal feels...weird."

"Probably an ambush then. Under a genjutsu?" Kakashi suggested with a look at Suzue.

"It sort of feels like the metal could be under one. But if so, it's not one I've ever encountered before," the girl shrugged. If they really were the Demon Brothers then that odd feel must be that hiding in a puddle jutsu that she could no longer remember the name of, or even how it worked. Had how that Jutsu worked been explained at all? Or even named?

"All right team," Kakashi started drawing everyone's attention. "Our mission is to protect Tazuna here. We have an unknown coming up that we know very little about. This unknown could be after our client or it could be after one of us. So we're going to trigger the ambush to find out what's going on. Now here's the plan..."

The plan was actually very similar to what happened in canon. They were going to trigger the ambush and if the shinobi attacking them were worth anything, they would attack Kakashi first. Kakashi said he was going to pretend to get caught or taken down. If the attacking party was after him, then they should take off once their mission was 'done'. If Kakashi wasn't the target but someone else in their group, then they should go after that person. The genin's part was to simply keep Tazuna from being killed or caught in the crossfire. Once Kakashi determined who the target was, if it wasn't him, he would step in and take them down if his genin hadn't done so already.

Suzue was glad for the simple planning as it left her more room to just do and not think then a detailed plan would. She had been pleased to find that this type of planning worked really well for the whole team. Naruto couldn't keep complicated plans straight in his head, working better with on the fly planning. Sasuke could work with detailed plans but his personal preference was simple plans that could be changed as results did. Suzue, of course, just worked best with a goal in mind and not having to think; just act.

The group started again, only to realize that their civilian client was doing better than Naruto at acting like they weren't about to walk into an ambush.

"Dobe, you're going to tip them off," Sasuke taunted.

"Am not," Naruto snapped back.

"Pretend you're pranking them," Suzue offered before she could think too much about the advice.

"Pranking them?" Naruto repeated with a blink. He thought about it for a moment before gaining a foxy grin. "It is like pranking them, isn't it?"

Naruto chuckled to himself, but amazingly enough, his interbody language changed. He suddenly became the best of all of them except for Kakashi at making it seem like he didn't expect a thing.

"Hmm, I should use that more in your training exercises," Kakashi mused to himself.

"Suzue's been using it since the team formed," Sasuke pointed out.

"Really now?" Kakashi hummed turning his attention to Suzue. Said girl felt herself flush up in embarrassment.

"Pranking seems like it would be good practice for certain ninja skills," Suzue explained. "Always has, Naruto just can't see the connect very well."

"Hmm," Kakashi acknowledged. They fell into silence as they continued to walk towards the ambushed. Sasuke and Naruto ended up arguing about something several minutes later that had Tazuna muttering about kids. Suzue wasn't sure, but she didn't remember the two of the arguing as much as they did. Though if that was the case she had no clue what her being on the team had changed to result in them fighting so much. The two were still arguing as they walked pass a puddle on the side of the road.

Kakashi was the rear guard with Naruto and Sasuke as the side guards and Suzue was the front one. Just as Kakashi passed the puddle, Suzue felt the metal she had been sense get clearer. Spinning around with her hands dropping to her thigh hostels she saw the two shinobi leap from the puddle to Kakashi. Her actions caused the boys to drop their argument to also turn to face their teacher dropping into a guard in front of Tazuna. He was the last on the uptake.

The metal chain strung between the two ninja was already being wrapped around Kakashi. Suzue, even knowing Kakashi was going to be fine, found it very hard to not try and do anything to help her sensei. It was horrifying to watch as Kakashi was 'killed' and Suzue noted that adrenaline had hit her system. Which, despite what people would say in stories, wasn't good for fights.

Heart rate increase, breathing became rapid and her vision seemed to narrow down to the two shinobi who were now going after Naruto. She couldn't run so that left fighting. Sasuke was the first to start moving and pinned the chain to a tree. As he dealt a blow to both ninja, Suzue moved so that she in front of Tazuna instead of behind him. The two enemy disengaged their chain and split up. One went after Naruto while the other went straight towards Tazuna which meant her.

A quick check to what she was sense to make sure the weight of the metal on the two's arms wasn't greater than her own weight and Suzue was Pushing as hard as she could on the gauntlets both wore. Their arms went flying back with such force that one of them ended up with a dislocated shoulder based on the crack that sounded. Suzue was had to drop the Pushing when they channeled chakra to stick themselves to the ground. It increased their weight so the Push caused Suzue to start sliding back instead of them.

A brief moment of frozen panic coursed through Suzue as the two ninja focused their attention on her before Kakashi was there knocking them out. Gulping air, the girl dropped the two kunai she had pulled at some point in the fight but couldn't remember when. Her hands were shaking badly and she wasn't sure her legs were going support her for much longer.

"Suzue-chan?" Kakashi called out to her as he checked on all his genin. "Are you alright?"

The girl opened her mouth to answer yes but nothing came out. She tried again but still nothing. After another moment of hesitation, she gave him a nod. Suzue was sure she was alright. Or would be soon. It was just the adrenaline drop off. She was sure.

Her legs gave out.

"Suzue?" Sasuke called out.

"Make sure she wasn't injured, I'm going to secure these two," Kakashi ordered. "You're weren't hit right, Naruto?"

"N-no," Naruto shook his head. "He missed."

"Go check on Suzue-chan as well then."

Both boys came over to her and started fussing over her. Well, Naruto was fussing, Sasuke just gave her a once over to make sure she hadn't been injured. Kakashi was back with them in less than a minute giving her his own once over.

"Adrenaline drop off?" Kakashi guessed now that he could study her better. Suzue nodded, trying to get the shaking under control. She felt cold.

"It'll get better," Kakashi offered. "Take deep breaths and relax. Stop tensing."

Suzue hadn't even realized that she was tensing until he told her to stop. She inhaled sharply and held it for a few seconds before releasing the breath. It helped her to relax her muscles as well and after a minute or two, the shaking stopped.

"Can you stand?" Kakashi asked.

"N-not sure," Suzue admitted. Sasuke grunted but held out a hand for her to grip. Grasping the offered hand, he pulled her up. She stumbled once her feet were under her again, and ended up leaning heavily against Sasuke. He allowed it as she was still trembling. Naruto picked up the two kunai she had dropped.

"Here," Naruto offered, holding them out to her. The lavender-haired girl took them and put them away.

"Better?" Kakashi questioned, getting a nod from the girl. "Good. Now, I believe we have something to talk about Tazuna."

"We do?" the old man asked looking away from where he had been watching the genin.

"Yep, these two are chunin level ninja from Kirigakure. They are rather well known to keep fighting no matter what," Kakashi explained.

"So?" Tazuna asked eyeing Kakashi warily.

"So, this mission has just been bumped up to B-Rank as the target did, in fact, turn out to be you."

"What about that talk about continuing the mission the other night?"

"I was expecting the ninja to be of lower rank, drop out or genin level missing nin that had turned into banditry. Something my team could handle. Even with you being the target. Given the mission details, you gave us in the contract that could still be in the parameters. But chunin level ninja targeting you? Makes me think you've lied about something. And that is cause to break the contract with no penalty to us."

"I see, so you'll leave an old man out here just like that?" Tazuna sighed, not seemingly that angry about it despite his words.

"This fight proved that not all my genin are ready for this type of mission, even if none of them were injured," Kakashi sighed. "So we should turn back."

There was silence as everyone took in the meaning of Kakashi's words. Suzue finally felt steady enough and pushed off Sasuke so she was standing by herself. She wondered what Naruto was going to do. If she remembered correctly, he cut himself to make a promise that he was never going to back down again from a fight. But he wasn't injured and she was also a reason to turn back because of her reaction post battle. So would Naruto still make the same promise?

"No," Naruto started after another moment of silence. "No, we shouldn't turn back! We promised to protect the old man and that's what we'll do. I vow on my dream to be Hokage to never freeze up like that again!"

"Hm, well that's good and all Naruto, but what about Suzue-chan?" Kakashi asked flicking his eyes from Naruto to the girl in question. "What do you think?"

Licking her lips to give her a moment to collect her thoughts, Suzue answered, "Even if Tuzuna-san has lied, unexpected things still come up in missions. It...I think it would look bad for us to just give up on a mission the moment something unexpected comes up. I say we continue on."

"Even though you were terrified?" Kakashi asked, staring her straight in the eye.

"I'm always terrified," Suzue admitted, looking away. "I just didn't like seeing you...die."

"Hmm, well then," Kakashi sighed turning back to Tazuna. "Seems like you still have an escort."

"I..." Tazuna started before sighing himself. "You're right, I did lie about ninja being after me. I knew that was a high probability but didn't have enough money to pay for a higher ranking mission."

"So what's the real situation we're heading into?" Kakashi asked.

"There's a man after my life. A dangerous one. You've probably heard of him. He's a wealthy shipping magnate named Gatou?"

"Gatou? As in Gatou's Shipping Company? One of the wealthiest men in the world?" Kakashi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, that would be him," Tazuna sighed. "Part of the reason he's so wealthy is that he also sales drugs and other illegal items. He hires out ninja and yakuza men to help him take over other businesses and small countries. About a year ago, he set his eyes on Wave Country and quickly took control of the whole country's shipping industry. Now the only threat to his business is the bridge that I'm building. If it's completed he would no longer have a monopoly on the country."

"So you're a threat to this Gatou," Sasuke surmised. "And he's sending everything he's got against you."

"Yeah, that's it in a nutshell. But don't worry about it! If I die, my cute ten-year-old grandson will just cry for a few days!" Tazuna informed them with a laugh. "Oh yeah, and my daughter will live a sad life hating Konohagakure ninja forever. But it wouldn't be your fault, not at all!"

"We already said we'll protect you, Old Man," Naruto pointed out with a huff. "No need to give us the sob story. Even though I don't really get what's going on."

"Powerful bad man wants to rule the country and it's only hope is the bridge the old man is building," Suzue summarized for him. Naruto let at a sound of understanding while Sasuke muttered, "Dobe," under his breath. Naruto heard them and it started another one of their arguments.

"Kakashi-sensei? What are we going to do with the enemy ninja?" Suzue asked after a moment of watching the boys fight. She couldn't remember what happened to them or if they were ever mentioned again after this moment. And she didn't know if it was because she forgot or if it had been a plot hole.

"Well, we're not that far from the next town," Kakashi mused. "Can you sense any other ninja?"

Suzue took a moment to make sure she didn't sense any more metal before shaking her head no.

"Then, I'm going to run ahead with these two and drop them off at the Konoha outpost," Kakashi answered then turned to the boys. "Listen up."

Both boys stopped fighting to pay attention to their sensei.

"I'm going to run ahead to the next town to drop these two off at the Konoha outpost," Kakashi repeated to them. "I want you three to guard Tazuna here and meet me up in the next town. You should still get there about dusk. Suzue, keep an eye out for anymore ninja appearing in your range. If you notice any, inform your teammates. I want you three to make a run for it instead of engaging. Carry Tazuna if you have to. Understood?"

"We can fight," Naruto protested.

"No, these are my orders. You three need to keep each other safe. Remember to always take care of your comrades. That is the most important thing."

"...Right, we'll run then," Naruto mumbled with a pout. Kakashi ruffled his hair.

"Good, see you in a few hours," Kakashi said before disappearing with the two chunin mist ninja.

"Better get going then," Sasuke said as he started walking down the road again.

"Yeah," Suzue agreed as she felt Kakashi leave her sensing range.

* * *

Suzue paused in her digging through Kakashi's pack as she noticed someone coming down the hall from the bathroom. After a moment of analyzing what she was sensing, she went back to rummaging through the pack. It was one of the two boys and they wouldn't care (too much) on her invading their sensei's privacy. Though she wasn't finding what she was looking for.

"Suzue-chan? Isn't that Kakashi's pack?" Naruto questioned after walking into the room they were renting for the night.

"Yep," Suzue answered as she sat back on her heels.

"Why are you in Kakashi's stuff? Are you pranking him?" Naruto continued as he drew closer. The last question was said with so much glee that Suzue was tempted to tell Naruto to prank it.

"No, we're on a serious mission. I'm not pranking him," Suzue shook her head.

"Then what are you doing?"

"Looking for his book."

"You haven't found it?" Naruto asked leaning over to peer into the pack himself.

"I think he doesn't have it with him."

"Now that you mention it...I don't think I've seen it since we left Konoha."

"Me neither," Suzue sighed.

"Why do you even want it? It's a prevy book. I thought girls weren't into that stuff."

Suzue blinked in surprised and gave Naruto a look. "That's not why I want the book. I just want to find out if it's more than a prevy book. And...girls are into that stuff too."

"Really? Then why do they yell at guys and stuff for it?"

"Because they want men to think they're above stuff like that," Suzue shrugged as she gave one last look at Kakashi's things before deciding to give up on her search.

"Huh? So girls are perverts too," Naruto mused like he had just solved a great mystery. Suzue rolled her eyes as she put Kakashi's things back. She moved over to her bedroll and Naruto followed her. Suzue gave him a curious look and he flushed looking away.

"Um, I was hoping to talk to you alone," Naruto mumbled before saying, "And not about what we just talked about!"

"Okay? What did you want to talk about?" Suzue asked as she patted the spot next to her. She tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach from Naruto wanting to talk to her. His asking meant it was probably something serious in nature. Naruto took the invitation and collapsed next to her with a loud sigh.

"It's...it's about the fight the other day," Naruto started. It had been two days since they fought the Demon Brothers, and they would be reaching Tanuza's home tomorrow. Meaning they would be facing Zabuza. Probably. Suzue glared at Kakashi's pack as she recalled the reason she had even considered going through Kakashi's things. She had needed a distraction from her thoughts.

"What about the fight?" Suzue prompted when Naruto didn't continue.

"Well...you were scared, right? Even though we knew the plan...When I saw Kakashi-sensei 'die' I just...couldn't move anymore because I was scared."

"I was scared. Terrified really. I think it's a perfectly reasonable reaction to what happen," Suzue agreed, wondering where Naruto was going with this. She watched as her fingers started picking at a loose thread on her skirt.

"But! But you were able to move! And do things! Like fight. I know you're the reason I didn't get hurt. That guy's arm just went wild," Naruto rambled.

"I'm...I'm used to doing things even when I'm scared. It's something I've lived with for most of my life," Suzue explained once Naruto stopped talking.

"How? And...and why didn't Sasuke freeze up? Do you think he was scared?" Naruto quizzed, slumping over. "Am I really a scaredy cat?"

"...I really don't know how to explain how to move even though you're scared. Some days, I can't move. The fear is too much," Suzue admitted not looking at Naruto. She hoped she was helping him. "For Sasuke...well, I think it has something to do with what happened to his family that he didn't freeze up. You only did so because you watched Kakashi get cut into little pieces right?"

"I guess...yeah, I think that's really what got me. Even though I knew Kakashi was prepared to do something like that."

"I don't know for sure, but I think Sasuke witness his family getting murdered. He's already seen someone he cares for die. In a way, seeing something like that doesn't scare him anymore. Or he's been so scared by something similar that he already knows how to move past that fear."

"Huh? That's why he's alone?"

Suzue blinked at Naruto. She hadn't realized that Naruto didn't know about the Uchiha massacre. Or even what happened to Sasuke's family. She suddenly couldn't recall if she had ever learned about the Uchiha in this life. Was it off that she knew this?

Nodding in answer, even as her mind latched onto yet another thing to worry over, Naruto let out a hum putting on his thinking face.

"So, do you think I won't freeze like that again?"

"Honestly, no I don't think you will," Suzue answered with a shake of her head as she pushed her previous thoughts to the back of mind to worry about in the middle of the night. Instead, she went through her memories of the story from her last life flitted through her mind. She couldn't remember Naruto ever freezing like that again. "I don't think you will. You're not a scaredy cat like Sasuke called you. I guess you were more caught off guard than anything. Is this the first time you've been in an actual fight?"

"No, I was in one that lead to me getting my hitai-ate," Naruto answered well pointing at said hitai-ate. "It was different, though. Not like this."

"All fights are different. But they do get similar I think. Like they have things in common with one another once you've been in enough of them," Suzue rambled as she tried to think of what Naruto really needed to hear. She hoped she was actually helping and not just throwing random words out. "Make the decision now to never freeze again. I hear that if you make a decision before hand then when you're facing the decision in the moment, you already know what you're going to do."

"That works?"

"Sometimes. For me at least. But I'm a bit of a wishy-washy person. So I'm prone to changing my mind about things and not making commitments," Suzue sighed as she pulled her knees up and hugged them. "You're a better person than me about that. Never break a promise, right?"

"Yeah, but you're an awesome person! I mean you're the reason why I've gotten so much better. You've been figuring out what I've been missing from the academy."

"That...I..." Suzue started but couldn't finish as she didn't know what to say to that. She could feel heat rising up on her cheeks and was sure that they were now red.

"Well, isn't this just cozy."

Suzue twitched and Naruto lets out startled scream as he spun around to face Kakashi who had snuck into the room to crouch right next to Naruto. He was peering curiously at the two of them. "Having fun?"

"Always," Suzue deadpanned, too annoyed to overthink what she was saying. As she took a couple of deep breaths to lower her heartbeat, she shifted her gaze from her sensei to the door where Sasuke and Tazuna were entering from.

"Don't do things like that Sensei! You're going to kill me one day," Naruto wailed as he calmed his racing heart.

"What kind of a ninja doesn't notice another right in front of them?" Sasuke asked with a haughty huff.

"What the hell do you think you're implying, Teme?" Naruto shouted, shooting up to his feet.

Suzue blinked as the boys started arguing. For a moment there she had thought Sasuke was making a joke. She even had an answer for that one: 'A Dead Ninja.'

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Kakashi asked making Suzue turn her attention back to him. He was eye-smiling at her. She, in turn, pouted at him.

"No. You didn't bring it, did you?"

"Of course not. Way too much risk of damage," Kakashi easily admitted.

"Looking for what?" Sasuke asked from where he had Naruto in a headlock. The blond wasn't spouting curses so that meant he was listening to the conversation, even if he was trying to break out of said lock.

"Kakashi's book," Suzue answered. She was mildly amused to see his expression caught between 'I-don't-care' and 'why-hell-didn't-you-invite-me-to-help'. Then Naruto managed to elbow the dark-haired boy in the guts turning his expression into one of pain.

"Alright, boys, that's enough rough housing for the day. Bed."

The two, well trained to this by now, broke apart with a glare at each other before going ahead and ignoring each other. Suzue had first watch that night so settled into a spot that allowed her to see both the window and the door while the others settled into their bedrolls.

* * *

The next day had them reaching the coast where Tazuna had arranged for them to be smuggled into Wave Country. And they were being smuggled in; which some part of Suzue thought was cool. She was then distracted by the fact that the boat they would be riding in had a motor. She hadn't known boats had motors in this world.

"Suzue-chan?" Kakashi called to her. She flushed a little as she realized what that tone was. Kakashi had figured out that she was really shy about asking questions, voicing opinions, and other such things. As a result, he started calling her out on it when he noticed that was what was going on with her. He would then keep poking until she said something about what was going through her head. Even the boys were starting to pick up on this.

"It's just..." Suzue started while making vague gestures towards the motor, half hoping that someone would guess what she wanted to know. But of course, that didn't happen so continued, "I didn't realize that boats had motors. I thought you had to row or use sails for boats."

"That's only true for most bigger boats," their guild to Wave Country answered. "Small ones like this can use motors like these. Not that we'll be using it today. It's too loud and draws too much attention. Now let's get going, the mist won't last all day."

They all clambered into the boat. Suzue was a bit surprised that the boat didn't wobble too much as apparently being ninja lead to excellent balance, even on a boat in water. Once all settled their guild pushed off and they were on their way.

It was only about fifteen minutes into their trip when their guild mentioned being able to see the bridge up ahead. Curious, all three genin started peering into the mist, hoping to catch the first glimpse of the bridge Tazuna was building.

"Wow! It's huge!" Naruto shouted as soon as the bridge came into view. And it was huge. Suzue hadn't seen anything like this bridge since entering this world.

"Shh you! There's a reason we're ghosting through the mist. It would be bad if Gatou caught us," their guild hissed at Naruto making said blond clamp his hands over his mouth to keep from making any more sounds. Suzue bit her own lip to keep from asking questions. She was curious to know how long Tazuna had been working on this bridge and if there were any other's like it in the world. If not, then how did he design such a thing. But she supposed that there was time enough to do so later.

They continued to travel along in silence until they came to a wall tunnels running through it. Suzue turned and listened in as their guild talked to Tazuna.

"Looks like we've avoided detection so far, but...just in case we'll be taking the route that has vegetation. The enemies won't be able to spot us."

"Thanks," Tazuna nodded before turned to Kakashi. "We'll be taking the long way to my house. Around the island. We should get there about mid afternoon."

"Good," Kakashi acknowledge before everyone fell silent again.

Their guild did indeed travel through the vegetation part of the bay. They could barely glimpse the town that was built on the water's edge as they glided between trees growing out of the water. Suzue remembered knowing what those trees were called at some point but for the life of her couldn't remember what they were. Though she was pretty sure she was trying to remember the English word for those trees.

Soon they were pulling up to an old abandon building that might have been boat house in the past. It was empty and falling apart now. Tazuna and their guide said their goodbyes before their guide pushed off a ways out. Then he turned on the motor and high-tailed it out of there.

As Suzue turned her attention back to the group, she picked up a flicker on the edges of her senses. She blinked and focused more on it than her teammates and client. A few more steps down the road had her recognizing a large piece of metal moving at ninja speed.

"Sensei, incoming from the northwest," Suzue reported quickly as she realized just how fast it was moving. "One, I think. With a sword. A really large sword."

"Team stay alert, prepare to defend the client. I'll be the one to engage this one," Kakashi ordered.

"But..." Naruto started before Kakashi cut him off.

"No, I'm sure they're sending someone a lot stronger than the two we fought the other day. Suzue report using handsigns."

Panic gripped Suzue even as she nodded her acknowledgment to Kakashi. She wasn't sure she could remember enough of the handsigns they knew to give Kakashi correct updates. Forcing herself to breathe in an even manner, she went back to paying more attention to the incoming metal than walking down the road.

Haku was there. She was guessing that it was Haku as she doubted Zabuza would be traveling with someone else. He didn't have as much metal on him as his partner did making it harder to pick him up. Though Suzue realized that they were right on top of them. She informed Kakashi of all this, hoping she was doing it right. Apparently whatever she said made sense as Kakashi didn't give her any odd looks.

It was a few minutes later that Suzue sense the large piece of metal shift and she was yelling "Duck" before Zabuza had even gotten the blade fully over his shoulders to throw. He still threw the thing anyways and just like in the story, appeared on top of the sword handle to peer at them from over his shoulder. Suzue couldn't help but wonder if the drama of it all was really necessary.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't mist's missing-nin Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi stated in a lazy manner before throwing over his shoulder at the three of them. "Remember my orders. This one is definitely on a whole other level."

Then Kakashi reached for his hitai-ate, pulling it up. "It might be tough if I don't use this."

"Seems like you would be Sharingan Kakashi," Zabuza mused. "Sorry, but the old man is mine."

Suzue wasn't in the right position to see Kakashi's Sharingan eye but Naruto was. He was curiously trying to get a better view of it. Sasuke, on the other hand, was in a similar position to hers; he couldn't see the eye but that didn't stop him from glaring at Kakashi's back. She could feel his need to know why Kakashi had one of his clan's famous eyes.

"Get into position," Kakashi ordered and the three responded to form a triangle position around Tazuna.

"Seems you're brats are well trained. Not that's it's going to help them," Zabuza drawled. "Still, to see the Sharingan eye this early. I feel honor. Not that it's going to help you much, even if it's said you've copied a thousand jutsu.

"Is that why that's eye so special? It can copy things?" Naruto asked in a loud whispered.

"One of the reasons," Sasuke answered.

"Enough talk, though," Zabuza declared as he crouched down to grip the handle of his blade. "Need to kill the old man and it seems like I need to go through you Kakashi to do it."

Next thing Suzue knew was that Zabuza and his sword were no longer on the tree but over on the small lake. Her eyes flickered over to the lake in time to see Zabuza make a handseal, water swirling around him.

"Ninpou: Hidden Mist no Jutsu," Zabuza said as the water around him became mist obscuring him from view.

Suzue sensed the metal in his sword move back onto land and her eyes followed his trail. Lips caught in her teeth as she wondered if she should alert Kakashi to Zabuza's new position or not. She would have to call out as the mist was steadily getting thicker and would be hard to see handsigns in. Kakashi would also be distracted with the fight to really give her enough attention for continuing updates. Calling out to inform Kakashi where Zabuza was would also alert former mist-nin to the fact that she could track him. Would the reward of having Kakashi know where his opponent was worth the risk of exposing her talent?

"He'll come after me first," Kakashi said pulling the three genin's attention. "As a member of Kiri, Momochi Zabuza was known as an expert in assassination. You don't even notice until you're already dead. Be on your guard and be careful."

The three of them said nothing to that, just put more of their attention on their surroundings. Zabuza was still in the spot he had gone to after starting the hidden mist jutsu. Suzue felt her eyes flicker to where she was picking up Haku's presentence but he didn't seem to have moved at all. She really hoped that her being here didn't change to Haku jumping into help with the fight instead of just staying on the sidelines to bail Zabuza out if needs be.

"Damn it! Why is this fog getting so thick?" Naruto growled. Suzue's eyes flicker to her teammate before Zabuza's voice sounded into the clearing.

"8 choices," the voice echoed. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart...Which one should I go after?"

Silence eerily descended around them. Suzue was hyper-aware of her own breathing and rapid heart beat. This waiting...she hated it. Worry started eating at her. Worst case scenarios began fluttering through her brain. They were all going to die. It would be her fault because she wasn't supposed to be here. Wasn't even suppose to exist. Sweat dripped down her back and she fought to keep her hands steady with a kunai in each.

This was why she started fighting without thinking. Experiencing this time of waiting before a fight was hell.

Then Kakashi's metals flicker into a nearby tree. Blinking, Suzue glanced at the tree then back at the Kakashi that was still standing in front of them. That was when she noticed that two boys had tensed and Tazuna had lost control of his bowels. Confused on why everyone was just now scared witless, she glanced between the two boys and became concerned over how Sasuke was reacting.

On impulse, she slipped the kunai in her right hand up her sleeve before grabbing onto Sasuke's armband. He jolted as his head whipped around to stare at her. His eyes were wide, filled with terror, and he had gone pale; really pale. Before she could say anything, Kakashi spoke up.

"Sasuke, don't worry. I'll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die."

A little color returned to Sasuke's face and he nodded. Suzue let go of him just as Zabuza said, "We'll see about that!"

Zabuza was in between them all, ready to swing his large sword. There was no metal on him so Suzue knew it was a clone. It didn't stop her from starting to spin towards him with her two kunai in hand. After all, a clone can still do damage. Before she could even finish her spin, however, clone-Kakashi was there pushing all of them away and gutting clone-Zabuza. Suzue managed to turn her spin into a crouch from the push but still ended up falling on her butt when she couldn't correct her balance fast enough.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto shouted as he scrambled back onto his feet. Suzue jumped up to her own and saw another Zabuza swing his huge sword at clone-Kakashi from behind. This Zabuza still lacked metal so it was a clone too. It managed to cut clone-Kakashi in half, though. A flicker and Suzue sensed real-Kakashi coming from the tree he had been perched in to land right behind clone-Zabuza.

"Don't move, it's over," Kakashi declared as he held a kunai to clone throat. Feeling a little panicky, and suddenly not being able to recall just how this fight goes beside Kakashi was going to end up in a water prison and they were going to have to recuse him, Suzue signed what she was pretty sure was 'Not real' to Kakashi.

Kakashi got the message and didn't hesitate. He slit the clone's throat as it started speaking. He signed something back to her and it took a moment for her to translate it in her head. 'Where?' Heart thumping loudly in her ear, she picked out where Zabuza was and nearly had a panic attack. 'Incoming, behind!' she signed back, hands jittery to the point that she really hoped he understood. And that she was using the right signs.

Apparently, she had as Kakashi was already spinning around when Zabuza appeared swinging his sword at Kakashi in a similar fashion to his clone just several seconds before. Kakashi had crouched and was aiming a low kick at Zabuza's legs while the sword flew right over Kakashi's head. The low kick succeeded in knocking the mist nin's feet from out under him, but he was talented enough to use his sword that was now buried in the earth to rebalance himself and send his own kick at Kakashi's head. An arm came up just in time to prevent the sandaled foot from landing on his face.

Their sensei went flying towards the lake as Zabuza landed on the ground and hauled his sword out of the dirt. He lifted it up and took a step forward only to pause. Suzue noticed caltrop scattered on the ground but before she could even contemplate using them to attack Zabuza he flickered out of sight. Following the metal, Suzue spun around to see Zabuza had already started the handseals for the water prison. She watched feeling helpless as Kakashi was trapped in water.

"Trying to escape using water? Against a ninja from Water country? Rookie's mistake Kakashi," Zabuza taunted with a huff of laughter. "We'll finish things later, Kakashi, first I'll take care of them."

Suzue's mind raced as she tried to figure out what she could do. She didn't know how attached Zabuza's sword was to him which meant that if she Pushed on it, the weapon would either go flying off Zabuza or she would go flying backward from the combined weight of the sword and Zabuza. The large sword was heavy enough that she wasn't sure if she would go flying backward anyways. Either way, without another anchor to keep her from moving, she wasn't going to be able to Push Zabuza away from the water prison thus breaking the jutsu. And that was only if the sword was attached enough to do that.

The caltrops could have worked, except they were all behind her. She wasn't skilled enough to Pull them to her, dodging them all, then Push the small bits of metal towards Zabuza. Plus there was the risk of hitting Tazuna, her teammates, and even Kakashi if the water prison jutsu didn't protect him from attacks. Which she had no idea if it did but was more willing to believe that it didn't.

As her mind whirled, Zabuza formed another water clone while taunting them.

"Wearing those hitai-ate and acting like ninja. A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Only when you're good enough to be listed in the bingo book can you start calling yourself ninja. As it is, you are not shinobi."

The clone vanished and Suzue nearly went into a panic attack when she realized that she could not track it. Her head snapped to the side to the noise of a kick landing on a body. She watched as Naruto went flying only to crash into the dirt after a few meters. Turning back to the clone, Suzue threw her two kunai at him before dropping her hands to her thigh holsters to grab several shuriken. Clone-Zabuza easily caught the kunai and threw her a wicked grin.

"Such brats," the real Zabuza snorted making Suzue glance at him.

"Take Tazuna-san and run! You have no chance of beating him!" Kakashi shouted at them. "As long as he's keeping me trapped in the prison he can't move! The water clone cannot go very far from his real body. Just run away now!"

Suzue gave a brief glance towards where Haku was hiding and wondered if running would even work for them. Zabuza may be trapped here but Haku wasn't. What if running just got them all killed by Haku instead? Or at least Tazuna. And that was even if they could get away fast enough from clone-Zabuza. He was faster than them, plus they had a civilian. Could they really outrun Zabuza?

And the story...the story had Naruto and Sasuke teaming up and tricking Zabuza into releasing Kakashi from the water prison. Shouldn't they be doing that right now? Why weren't they? What had she forgotten about the story that the boys weren't just doing that? Instead, they were just standing there staring at her with terror filled eyes.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto asked, voice trembling. He had lost his hitai-ate. She recalled that it had been Iruka-sensei's and their former teacher had given it to Naruto after saving his life. Why wasn't Naruto trying everything to get it back?

"We should go, right?" Naruto continued shakily. "He-he's too strong."

Helpless and beyond confused on just what she could have changed to cause Naruto of all people to not fight back, defy everything for what he believed in, Suzue turned to look at Sasuke. Because he shouldn't be buying into this we must run, right? Only he was looking at her with the same terrified look that Naruto was, eyes flicking between Zabuza and her.

This wasn't right. These two weren't the Naruto and Sasuke she remembered from a story. She had changed things and now they weren't the people the meant to be. Suzue wasn't even sure what she had even changed to have gotten this result. A part of her just wanted to give into hysterical laughter at just everything.

Then it suddenly dawned on her that Naruto and Sasuke weren't really characters in a story. Not anymore. They were two preteen boys in an overwhelming situation they didn't know how to deal with. And they were looking to her to lead them. They were trusting her to know what to do. Why they were doing that, she had no idea, but that didn't change the fact that they were.

"We should go Suzue," Sasuke said taking a step back and Suzue suddenly knew she couldn't let them run. If they ran now...if they ran now...what about down the line when they were facing even bigger threats than Zabuza? Compared to what was coming, Zabuza was a small fry. No, they had to stay and fight.

Suzue inhaled deeply and turned back to clone-Zabuza. She noticed that Naruto's hitai-ate was under clone-Zabuza's foot. Without taking the time to think it through, Suzue threw one fist full of shuriken at the clone. Once they left her hand she Pulled on the hitai-ate. Clone-Zabuza stumbled and quicker than it should be allowed, swung its sword over its shoulder to block all the shuriken

"That all you got little girl?" Zabuza taunted. "You should listen to your fellow brats and run. Might let you live then. Or maybe not."

Said little girl ignored the taunt and turned to Naruto. She thrust out her hand holding the blond's hitai-ate to him.

"Those who abound the rules are trash, but those who don't take care of their comrades are even lower than trash," Suzue quoted to the wide-eyed boy. "And...Kakashi-sensei is our teammate. We are not going to abandon him."

Naruto still wide-eyed looked at his hitai-ate then back at his female teammate. Suzue was pleased to see his expression go from terrified to determine. Squaring his shoulders, Naruto grabbed the hitai-ate and tied it back on before turning to Zabuza.

"Hey, eyebrow-less freak! Put this in your bingo book! Future Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto!"

A rather vicious grin spread over Naruto's face. Suzue gave a small huff of laughter at the grin before turning to glance at Sasuke. She was glad to see him also standing taller, firmer, no longer taking steps back to run away. Feeling better that she was no longer standing alone against a jounin, Suzue Pulled the shuriken she had thrown back to herself. Catching them with practiced ease.

"Hey, I've got a plan, you guys," Naruto declared.

"Really? Teamwork from you?" Sasuke grunted. "Better be a good one."

"Oh, totally is," Naruto agreed. "So let's get wild!"

"That's a lot of arrogance, but do you really think you'll stand a chance?" Zabuza laughed.

"I told you to run!" Kakashi shouted at them, drawing their attention. "This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna-san! Did you forget that?!"

"Old man?" Naruto questioned turning to look at him.

"Well," Tazuna started with a sigh, "I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to now say that I desire to live so much that I'd stop you. I'm sorry guys, fight as much as you want."

"You hear that?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked, grin back on his face.

"We'll still protect you too, Tazuna-san," Suzue offered, feeding off the boys confidence. "I really don't think our chances running are that much better than staying to fight anyway."

Their by-play however only caused Zabuza to laugh at them.

"What?" Naruto demanded annoyed.

"You guys will never grow up! Are you just going to keep playing ninja? Well, when I was about your age, these hands were already dyed red with blood."

Suzue remembered this story, about how Zabuza had killed a whole class of students without provocation because Kirigakure had a system of pitting classmate against each other. It was also the first proof that the author of the Naruto story couldn't do timelines. After all, if Zabuza was supposed to have been a small child not even in the academy yet when he did this and that it was only ten years ago, then Zabuza should be only a few years older them, not Kakashi's age.

At the moment, Suzue was so stressed out that she didn't care how that really worked. Whether it was supposed to be twenty years ago or Zabuza had gotten lost for a while in whatever version of Fairyland Naruto's world had via misplaced Uzumaki seal that caused him to grow up a decade while little time passed here. She. Just. Didn't. Care!

So, she attacked before the two adults could get into story time. Besides, she was sure Kakashi was only using it to scare them into running.

Both fist-fulls of shuriken were thrown this time at the clone. Even caught off guard, the clone dodged the weapons in a burst of speed. The next moment he was elbowing her in the stomach. She automatically latched on to the metal in front of her and Pushed. It happened to be real-Zabuza's sword and apparently, it was firmly attached to whatever held it in place as she was sent flying backward out of reach of Clone-Zabuza's backhand punch. She adjusted her Push when she realized that she was going to land on the caltrops. Pushing on them so she was hovering just over them, she out a couple of hacking coughs to get her breathing back under control. When she looked up, it was to see Zabuza studying her. He appeared to be slightly confused by what had just happened.

Not that he had much time to contemplate what had happened. Naruto took great offense to clone-Zabuza attacking her so retaliated with his own attack. As per normal for him, he created a ton of clones to dog pile the enemy with. Clone-Zabuza easily destroyed them with a swipe of his overly large sword sending Naruto flying back. As Naruto skid across the ground, he pulled something from his backpack and tossed it towards Sasuke with a "Catch!"

Sasuke caught the thing with a roll and came up out of it with a Fuma Shuriken. Catching onto what Naruto had planned, Suzue jumped up next to Sasuke and dropped a coin while reaching into her own pack for her own Fuma Shuriken. She didn't pull it out right away but waited for Sasuke to jump as high as he could into the air before throwing his weapon. As soon as the weapon left his hand Suzue Pushed on the coin she dropped while pulling out her own Fuma Shuriken. Once she was as high as the coin would take her, she threw her weapon, sending it at different angle than Sasuke's.

"Even with both of you throwing, it won't work on me," clone-Zabuza taunted only to have both weapons by-pass him.

"I see," Real-Zabuza said as the two Fuma Shuriken went hurling at him. "You're actually aiming at the real me. But..."

He caught Sasuke's Fuma Shuriken and bent out of the way for hers before finishing with, "That's not enough!"

The missing-nin then noticed that Sasuke's had a shadow Fuma Shuriken. Even surprised he dodged Sasuke's second one by jumping into the air. But Suzue was already Pulling her Fuma Shuriken back towards her. Even with how much she had been Pushing and Pulling metals around her, Zabuza wasn't expecting the first weapon he had dodge to come flying back at him from the opposite direction. being in mid-air as he was, he had to pull his arm from the water prison or lose said arm.

Suzue continued to Pull on her Fuma Shuriken while starting to Pull on Sasuke's that was being held by Zabuza. The man swore as his fingers were nearly ripped off as the weapons lurched towards her. He let go of the weapon and it followed its fellow heading towards her. Once she judged the two to be at the right distance, she cut the Push she was using to keep herself in the air. Catching herself right before she hit the ground, she looked up to see the Fuma Shuriken change directions with her and cut the completely off guard clone in half. With a soft thump, she landed on the ground and caught the two weapons with ease. A quick flick of her wrist at both weapons closed and she handed one back to Naruto who was grinning brightly at her.

"That was totally awesome!" he crowed with the widest grin so far. It was contagious and Suzue couldn't stop her own grin while Sasuke just smirked. The three turned to see that Kakashi was free and was now engaging Zabuza, both running through the longest ninjutsu sequence she had ever seen.

The result was awesome. Two large water dragons spun to alive around their feet and collided into each other. The surging water flooded the clearing and Suzue had to lunge to grab Tazuna so he didn't get swept away in the water. When the water received she helped get him steady before turning back to see Kakashi and Zabuza disengage from a clash of weapons.

What happened next was one of the coolest things she had ever seen and also one of the eeriest. Kakashi proceeded to mirror every single move Zabuza did and started talking in sync with him. They started doing another overly long handsign sequence but Zabuza was looking freaked out. It affected him badly enough that Kakashi finished the sequence first and another surge of water came to live. It attacked Zabuza and once everything was cleared, Suzue saw that missing-nin was pinned to a tree, body littered with kunai. Kakashi was perched in one of the branches of the tree looking down at Zabuza.

As they were exchanging words, Suzue realized that Haku was moving. Her head snapped to where he appeared and saw him throw two senbon at Zabuza. The senbon landed, 'killing' Zabuza. She watched warily hoping that this part would go the same as the story. Because she was pretty sure that Kakashi was about to drop from exhaustion. At least that's what happened in that story.

Haku then let out a giggle before saying in a bit of a singsong voice, "You're right. He's dead."

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves before appearing again next to Zabuza. He checked for a pulse before eyeing the hunter-nin.

"Thank you very much!" Haku said formally. "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

"With that mask...a hunter-nin from Kirigakure?" Kakashi commented.

"Impressive," Haku said with a bit of teasing in his voice, "You would be correct."

"Hunter-nin?" Naruto asked in a growl, eyes narrowing at the other teen.

"Yes," Haku hummed, "My duty is to hunt down missing-nin for Kirigakure's hunter corp."

Naruto continued to glare at him. Suzue watched as Naruto looked to Zabuza back to Haku before demanding, "What the hell?! Who are you?!"

"Naruto," Kakashi sighed as she stood up. "There's no need to worry, he's not the enemy."

"Sensei?" Suzue asked before she could stop herself. Had he forgotten that she reported two enemies? Or...did he think that Haku really was what he said he was? That the second person she had tracked had been following Zabuza for a chance to kill him?

Kakashi gave her a studying look before eye-smiling, "Mah, we're done here I think. Best be on our way I believe."

"Wait just one minute!" Naruto shouted. "He...he just killed Zabuza! Even though he's not much older than me!"

"I get how you feel Naruto, but it's a fact of life that there exist people who are stronger than me but younger than you," Kakashi offered with a hair ruffle. Naruto just pouted at nothing.

"Besides, who says you won't be stronger than Zabuza in a few years?" Suzue threw out as she tugged on the hem of her skirt.

"Hn, like the Dobe, would ever get that strong," Sasuke added.

"What did you say Teme!" Naruto shot back.

"Boys," Kakashi drawled letting them know this wasn't the time for a fight. Haku vanished then reappeared next to Zabuza.

"Your battle is over," Haku stated as he lifted Zabuza over his shoulders. "Now I must dispose of the body and the secrets it may hold. Farewell."

Haku vanished again and Suzue tracked where he went. She expected him to leave her range but instead he stopped about a kilometer away.

"Well, let's get going. We need to get Tazuna back home," Kakashi announced.

"Hahaha! Yeah, come on, you can relax for a while there," Tazuna offered with a laugh that sounded more liked he was relieved for the fighting to be over.

"Sensei?" she tried again, "He's still within range."

"Leave it be Suzue-chan. Like he said our battle is over," Kakashi told with a pat on her head. She pouted up at him slightly annoyed and confused. With a deep breath, she decided to shelve it for now and talk to Kakashi about it later. That breath also reminded her that Tazuna had lost control of her bowels during the fight. Even with the unexpected bath, he still smelled a little. She moved so that she was more upwind of him and therefore had less of a chance of smelling that.

"So, Old Man, how much longer to your place?" Naruto asked as they started walking again.

"Uh...another two hours," Tazuna answered sheepishly.

"Aw man," Naruto complained.

Suzue kept a close eye on Kakashi, waiting for him to collapse. She was positive that happened, when she wasn't sure, but that it would be happening. It never did in the two hours it took for their group to make it to Tazuna's house. And really, what did she change so that Kakashi didn't collapse? Or did she not remember correctly and that had actually never happened?

* * *

Author Note: Thank you for reading Chapter 2! Leave a review if you enjoy the story. Next update should be next Sunday/Monday October 2nd/3rd.


	3. Chapter 3 - Wave Arc Part Two

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Own lots of things but Naruto is not one of them.

Warnings: Anxiety, freak outs, minor panic attacks, and not much else for this chapter I think…

Chapter: Three – Wave Arc Part Two

* * *

Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, greeted her father with a hug as soon as she opened the door and saw who it was. Immediately afterward she was pushing him away telling him that he smelled and needed a bath. Suzue blinked as Tazuna gave a weak chuckle before disappearing into the house.

"You must be the ninja Dad hired. Thank you for protecting him, please come in and be welcome," Tsunami welcomed with a bow.

"Thank you," Kakashi offered as they entered the house. Suzue tugged on her skirt as her anxiety came back with a vengeance as she started panicking over being in someone else's home and not knowing them. What did they expect, how was she suppose to act, and what if the owner doesn't like them?

"We don't have too much space but would the front room work for you?" Tsunami was saying as she led them into the house. She was gesturing to a fairly large room to their left that looked like it could fit all of them for sleeping.

"That will be fine," Kakashi agreed as he toed off his sandals before entering the room. The three genin followed his lead and Suzue found something new to worry over as Kakashi just seemed to collapse into one of the corners of the room, resting his back against the wall.

"I was just getting lunch ready, will you four be joining us?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," Kakashi answered. With an acknowledged nod, Tsunami turned and entered the kitchen that was just off of the room. Suzue watched her go as she took her own sandals off before joining Kakashi in his corner.

"Um...Sensei? Are you alright?" Suzue asked as she knelt down next to him.

"Mah, the fight just took a lot out of me is all," Kakashi eye-smiled making Suzue frown at him.

"Do...do you need anything?" Suzue tried again. He hadn't collapsed so maybe he was in better shape then the story had suggested. Or maybe the story had just used him collapsing as a drama point. It had been written for entertainment after all, not a detailed historical account.

"Just rest, I'll be fine," Kakashi waved off. "No need to worry, Suzue-chan."

"So," Naruto cut in as he plopped on the ground with his 'thinking' face on. "Just who was that kid and why did you just let him take Zabuza's body like that?"

"A hunter-nin from Kirigakure. They have a special force that is dedicated to hunting down their village's missing-nin and disposing of their bodies."

"Doesn't our own village have the same thing?" Suzue asked with a frown.

"Not quite the same," Kakashi hummed. "Ours is smaller and a subdivision of ANBU. In Kirigakure, they have a whole department for their hunter. Kirigakure has the highest missing-nin count out of all the five major villages."

"Really? Why? Don't they like their village?" Naruto asked in clear confusion.

"Hasn't Kirigakure been in some sort of civil war for the last decade?" Suzue questioned as she tried to remember every detail she learned about Water Country and Kirigakure in the Academy. Not a whole lot as it was a forging country and in this world, information was hoarded, not shared. What was taught about the other countries was out of date information as history or general information that 'everyone' knew.

"Kirigakure is not a nice place to live," Kakashi answered. "As a result, people just leave not wanting to live there anymore. And Suzue-chan was right in that Kirigakure has been fighting with itself or the civilian government off and on for the past decade or so. So ninja who are on the losing side either die or run, thus becoming missing-nin."

"Kiri fights with the Water Daimyo?" Suzue blurted out in bewilderment. She hadn't known that. And if that was really true...then it wasn't just Kirigakure that was horrible, all of Water Country must be a mess.

"There's evidence of that," Kakashi confirmed with a lazy look. "All of Water Country is a bit of a black hole for information so can't really say for sure."

Suzue nodded slowly in understanding. From what she had learned about the governments in this world, The Daimyo ruled the civilians with Samurai as their police/army. They co-ruled the country with the leader of whatever ninja village happened to be the country if there was one. In the five major countries, that leader was one of The Kage. Each country had a different contract about what roles each government covered that had been modeled after the one the First Hokage had drafted with the Fire Daimyo at the time of Konohagakure's founding. She did know that part of each contract was that the ninja village could not attack the ruling family and the ruling family, in turn, could not attack the ninja village or hire anyone to attack them.

The fact that there were even rumors of that happening in Water Country... She was surprised that none of the other countries had started a war with them. It was probably Water Country being a really large island that kept it from being invaded during the turmoil. That and it was a bit like Australia from her last life; everything on said island tried to kill you.

"So they're forced out of their own village?" Naruto questioned pulling Suzue from her thoughts.

"Yeah, it's that or they're killed," Kakashi nodded.

"And so they send people out like that Hunter-kid to kill them? Why? They're not in the village anymore," Naruto tried to reason.

"To keep village secrets from being discovered," Kakashi explained. "A ninja's body can be examined to discovered all sorts of things. For example, if I was to die in the hands of an enemy then they could learn the secrets of the Sharingan."

"So the whole body needs to be destroyed," Sasuke surmised with a hum and a thoughtful look.

"Yes, they would only need the head as...prove...of...kill," Kakashi started. He went quiet before snapping his head to Suzue, making her jump, and asked, "You mentioned that there were two people during the fight. Did they come together?"

"Yes," Suzue confirmed with a pout. "I didn't even notice Hunter-san until they were nearly on top of us because Zabuza carried more metal."

"Ah...that was what you were hinting at after the battle wasn't it?" Kakashi laughed sheepishly.

Suzue flushed with a combination of embarrassment and annoyance. "Yes, that was what I was trying to tell you."

"Oh well. It doesn't matter too much. I wouldn't have been much good against a fresh fighter," Kakashi sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto demanded.

"The Hunter-nin was fake and was helping Zabuza along," Kakashi explained.

"But! But! That Hunter-kid killed Zabuza! You said so!"

"Ah, but Hunter-san killed Zabuza with senbon," Kakashi countered.

Sasuke's eyes widen as he connected the dots. "And senbon can be used to fake deaths."

"Correct, so it is very likely that Zabuza is still alive," Kakashi announced.

"What?!"

The ninja looked up to see that Tazuna had come back in clean clothes. He was looking at them in horror. "That man is still alive?"

"We think so," Kakashi nodded. "It would be better to act as if he is then to not do so."

"And when I thought we might be out of the woods," Tazuna muttered.

"Even if Zabuza is actually dead, who's to say that Gatou won't send someone else?" Kakashi pointed out. "So, we need to prepare."

"Prepare how?" Naruto asked with a blink. "And if Zabuza's alive, could he attack any minute?"

"No," Kakashi shook his head. "Zabuza was put into a temporary death. You don't just get up and go about your business after that. It will probably take him about a week to recover. So in the meantime, training for the three of you."

"Training? What kind of training? It's not more teamwork building exercises is it?" Naruto questioned.

"No, it'll be something different. Though if you want it to be a teamwork building exercises..." Kakashi trailed off with an eye-smile.

"No, no! I think whatever you have in mind is way better," Naruto waved off with a nervous chuckle.

"Good, we'll start on it tomorrow. So today, just rest," Kakashi ordered as he leaned back into the wall.

"What? Why can't we just start now?" Naruto whined.

"Dobe, don't you listen to Suzue?" Sasuke taunted making said girl flush at being dragged into one of their arguments.

"Of course I do!" Naruto snapped back. He then paused and his cheeks turned pink. "That's right, you need to rest or you do damage."

"Glad to know you have a brain, even it's really small," Sasuke huffed.

"What did you say?!" Naruto shouted getting to his feet.

Suzue just sighed as Sasuke repeated what he said with a smirk. Hearing a door creak behind her, Suzue turned to see a young boy walk into the house. He paused as he saw her staring at him. They stared at each other until Tazuna saw the boy.

"Inari! Where were you?!" Tazuna greeted holding his arms out wide.

"Welcome home, Grandpa," the kid greeted in a monotone. But he did toe off his sandals and walk over to give his grandpa a hug.

"Oh, Inari! You're home," Tsunami said as she entered the room. "Say hello to these people. They are the ninja who protected grandpa."

Inari frowned at her before turning to study them. After a moment, he turned back to his mother and said in one of the most deadpanned voices, "Mom...They're going to die."

"What did you say, you little brat?!" Naruto shouted. Suzue flinched and started edging away from the blond.

"There's no way you can win against Gatou," Inari explained.

"You brat! I'll-"

"What are you doing getting so mad at a child for? Dobe," Sasuke interrupted making Naruto stop his advance on the child in question.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and gave him a rude face before spinning back to face Inari to declare, "Listen up! I'm a superhero who will one day become an incredible ninja called Hokage. This Gatou guy is nothing against me!"

"What are you stupid?" Inari huffed. "There's no such thing as a hero!"

"What?!"

"If you don't want to die, you should leave," Inari informed them as he turned away.

"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked. "Lunch is about ready."

"To look at the ocean from my room...and I'm not hungry," Inari answered before leaving completely.

"Sorry..." Tazuna sighed after a moment of silence.

"He lost his hero so he doesn't believe in them anymore," Suzue murmured staring at the door Inari had left through. She could remember that Inari's backstory had been explained but she couldn't remember the details very well anymore. Just his father (father-figure?) was killed by Gatou for standing up against him.

Realizing that it was still silent, Suzue turned her attention back on everyone else and was startled to see everyone staring at her. "Um.."

"How did you guess Inari has lost someone?" Tsunami questioned after a moment.

"Ah...well..." Suzue stammered feeling her face heat up. "Most kids are...optimistic? Unless they have a reason to have learned not to be? And he reacted to Naruto calling himself a hero?"

"...Suzue-chan," Kakashi sighed after a moment, "When you're explaining yourself, don't say it like they're questions."

Said girl ducked her head as she felt her cheeks heat up even more from the reprimand. That was so much easier said than done. Really, how did other people just explain themselves and their reasons with assuredness?

"Well, she is right," Tazuna sighed. "He did lose his hero..."

"We all did..." Tsunami agreed. There was a moment of silence before the older woman spoke again. "A bit depressing, but lunch is ready if you're still in the mood to eat."

* * *

That night had Suzue on mid-watch and she was bored out of her mind. Being on watch was mind-numbing when nothing was happening. Even more so when you weren't expecting anything to happen. There was a reason guard duty was considered the worst. While it was for the most part really easy, there was nothing to do to keep the mind active. And Suzue had decided that mid-watch was the worst watch as it interrupted one's sleep so one had to fight against sleep while having nothing to do to keep one awake.

After finding herself dozing off for the third time, Suzue had ended up rummaging through everyone's packs for the outfits they had worn during the battle with Zabuza. Sewing clothes was actually something Suzue had learned how to do in her past life and she was familiar enough with it that she didn't have to pay too much attention to it. But it did require enough of her attention that it would help keep her awake. Though as soon as she sat down to go through everyone's clothes for tears to mend when she realized that she really didn't have enough light to work with.

A rustle of fabric had Suzue looking up and over towards where Kakashi had been sleeping. Blinking, she wondered if Kakashi had to go use the bathroom; which was weird to think about. It made Kakashi seem...human, real. Suzue let out an annoyed sigh as she realized that once again she had been thinking of the people around her as characters more than real people. She glared at the pile of clothes in front of her that she had been planning on mending but was too dark to do so.

"Suzue-chan."

Startled, Suzue's head snapped up to see that Kakashi had just sat up in his futon and was now waving her over. Feeling hesitant and wondering what he could want to talk to her about, Suzue set aside the clothing and made her way over to Kakashi. She knelt down next to his bed with a quick glance towards the boys to see if they were still asleep. They were.

"What is it?" Suzue asked in a low tone once she settled.

"I wanted to talk to you about something I noticed during the battle," Kakashi started making Suzue's anxiety sky rocket. What did Kakashi want to talk about? Did she do something wrong? Besides ignoring orders from her commanding officer. Was she going to get reprimanded for something? For defying Kakashi?

"Okay," Suzue managed to get out without squeaking too much.

"You're not in trouble," Kakashi reassured. Not that it helped much but Suzue still nodded her acknowledgment of his words.

"Suzue-chan...during the fight do you remember feeling Killing Intend?"

The lavender-haired blinked, blindsided by the question. She knew what Killing Intent was, they taught about it in the Academy. It was a technique mostly used to scare opponents or to get the adrenaline rushing in their blood. It could also be used to know if someone really intended to kill you or not. Of course, some people could kill without letting out Killing Intend and between two evenly matched opponents using Killing Intend on each other didn't really work. Knowing all this though still didn't clue her into why Kakashi asked if she remembered feeling it.

"No," Suzue said slowly as she tried to figure out what Kakashi was getting at. Did Zabuza use Killing Intend? She tried to remember if it had been mentioned in the Story but she was coming up blank.

"Hmm, interesting," Kakashi mused. Suzue frowned at him as he suddenly gave her an intense look. It made her uneasy with how intently he was studying her.

"Sensei?" Suzue asked after a moment playing with the hem of her skirt.

"You didn't feel a thing right then did you?" Kakashi questioned, his eye losing the focused look and going back to his half-lazy look.

"Uneasy?" Suzue offered not catching on to what he was getting at.

"I think that has more to do with your personality than being affected," Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're immune to Killing Intend."

"What?"

"Immune to Killing Intend. You can't feel it," Kakashi explained.

"That's a thing?" Suzue blinked as she went over everything she knew about Killing Intend. One could learn to deal with it or how to work around it, but she had never heard of being immune to it.

"It's rare," Kakashi acknowledge. "And to be honest I would have thought one of the two boys would be immune to Killing Intend, not you."

"Oh...is there a reason why?" Suzue asked with a frown. "Or are people just born with it?"

"It's an ongoing debate/research topic. Some say born, others say an event. There's evidence of both. From what I know of your past, though, I'll say you were born immune. As for that kind of event to trigger immunity, you would have to truly believe you were dead or something similar. Unless there's something..." Kakashi trailed off in an invitation to share if she wanted.

Suzue made a noncommittal sound as she processed the new information. Kakashi let her be as she pondered over if there was something that could account for this immunity. She was honest enough with herself to acknowledge that this life's childhood had not been as happy as the one she lived in before, but she couldn't really say there was an event from it that would make her immune to killing intent. Not in this life at least.

But she did remember another life. And that life had ended. Suzue had memories of actually dying. She could see that as triggering the immunity. After all, if you've died what's left to fear?

'Everything still since I'm still anxious over everything,' Suzue huffed to herself as she turned her attention back to Kakashi.

"I think you're right, I don't have anything in my childhood to explain that," Suzue answered. And it was true, technically. Her death had taken place before she was reborn after all. "So...what does this mean for me? Is it a bad thing to be immune?"

"Yes and no," Kakashi answered with a hum. "It's bad in that you won't know when Killing Intent is being directed at you, which could get you killed. But on the flip side, you won't be affected in a fight, thus surprising your opponent. It could also mean that since you don't notice it you won't realize that your allies have been affected until you're making a move expecting them to do their part and realizing that your alley isn't there helping."

"I see," Suzue nodded slowly. "Like how I didn't realize that Naruto and Sasuke had been compromised during the fight. I just noticed that they were suddenly a lot more scared than they were moments before."

"Yep."

"...Kakashi-sensei," Suzue started after a moment of silence. "I...I'm sorry I didn't listen to your orders. But I...we couldn't just leave you there. And I really didn't think we could have escaped before Zabuza's clone could catch us and I couldn't sense him so I wouldn't know when we would be safe. And we would have had to drag Tazuna-san along which would have slowed us down. Plus there was Hunter-san who was just watching but who's to say he wouldn't have come after us-"

Suzue blinked as she felt a hand cover her mouth. She looked up not realizing that she had looked away from Kakashi during her rambling. He seemed to be smiling at her but it wasn't his eye-smile so it was hard to tell through his mask and dim light.

"That's enough," Kakashi said lightly. "You don't have to be sorry. Looking back on it, I think you made the right call. I forgive you for disobeying orders and dragging your teammates into it. I won't be writing any of you up."

A sniff and Suzue realized that she was close to tears. She gave a jerky nod to show that she had heard and understood what he had said. Her throat was too clogged to say anything without bursting into actual tears.

Kakashi gave her head a couple of pats as Suzue worked on steadying her breathing. They sat there for about a minute before Kakashi spoke again, "Now, I think that's enough of that for the night. I'm going to go back to sleep. Wake Naruto up in about an hour for his shift alright?"

"Yeah, will do," Suzue managed to get. "Thank you."

Kakashi just gave her another pat on the head before shifting back down on his futon. Suzue got back up and went to her pile of clothes. She was going to have to put them away now that she really wasn't going to get any mending done.

* * *

"Now, for the training I promised you three," Kakashi announced early the next day.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted with way too much energy. "What is it? What is it? It's something super awesome right?"

"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke grunted, still half asleep. Sasuke was not a morning person at all.

"What did you say, Teme?"

"Boys," Kakashi drawled, leaning heavily on one of the trees. Suzue was of the opinion that he should still be sleeping but training them was more important. Both boys turned their attention to their Sensei, who continued once he was sure they weren't going to start at each other again. "To start us off, I want to first talk to you about chakra."

"Huh? Chakra? What's that?" Naruto asked making Suzue turn to stare at him. Even Sasuke was looking at Naruto in disbelief.

"You...don't know what chakra is?" Suzue asked in some horrified wonderment.

"It sounds familiar?" Naruto offered with a sheepish smile.

"How did you even pass out of the Academy?" Sasuke questioned in nearly the same tone Suzue had used instead of his more teasing manner he usually used when speaking to Naruto.

"What does that matter?" Naruto snapped. "I passed."

"Suzue-chan, would you mind explaining what chakra is for the group?" Kakashi sighed.

"Oh-kay?" Suzue agreed slowly. She blinked before taking a deep breath to give herself time to organize her thoughts. "So chakra is the energy used to fuel our jutsu. It is the combination of two different energies. One is physical energy that your body produces and the other is spiritual energy that is gained through experience...can you repeat that for me Naruto?"

"What?" Naruto blinked in surprised at the sudden question. "Um...chakra is energy? Two different kinds that need to be...mixed?"

"Yes that is correct," Suzue smiled at the blond who flushed. "Do you remember what the two different energies are that make up chakra?"

"Body and spirit!"

"Correct! To mix the two energies to make chakra you use handseals. That is how we get jutsu."

"Oh! Why didn't they just say that at the Academy?" Naruto huffed. "You make a lot more sense."

"You're just stupid," Sasuke threw out making Naruto turn and snap at him. The dark haired boy didn't bother to acknowledge the blond though as he focused more on Kakashi. "And besides the Dobe, we already know this. What's the point of the review?"

"The point of the review is that you three aren't using chakra effectively yet. Depending on what jutsu you use and what type of jutsu it causes the amount of chakra needed to vary. Release too little chakra and the jutsu doesn't work. Releasing too much chakra can have the same effect as well. That also has the effect on how long you can fight," Kakashi lectured.

"So...what do we do to not have that happen?" Naruto questioned with a frown.

"Learn how to control chakra through very rough training," Kakashi announced.

"Which would be?" Sasuke asked after an overly long pause.

"Climbing trees," Kakashi dramatically.

"Climbing trees?" Naruto repeated in a deadpan. "How is that suppose to be training? I already know how to climb trees!"

"Well, let me finish first," Kakashi drawled. "It won't be normal tree climbing. You'll be climbing without using your hands."

"How?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, watch," Kakashi hummed as he made a handseal. Suzue and the boys watch as Kakashi turned and walked up the tree. Even after over a decade of living in this world, seeing other ninja do this, and even doing this herself before, it was still really weird to see. Some part of her was screaming, 'This is not possible!'. She worked at pushing it down so it wouldn't bother her and hoped that one day she would get so use to this kind of thing that she no longer bat an eye at it.

"Wow," Naruto breathed. "He's climbing..."

"So, you three understand now?" Kakashi called down to them from where he was hanging upside down on a branch. "Gather your chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb the tree. This is something you can do once you have enough control over your chakra."

"Awesome! Let's start!" Naruto shouted.

"Hn," Sasuke agreed with a smirk.

Suzue just sighed as Kakashi hummed before tossing the three kunai at their feet.

"Well, if you think you've got it, let's start," Kakashi announced. "Used the kunai to mark your progress up the tree. It'll help you visualize your goal of making it up the tree. Also, try to get some momentum to climb the tree. You three got it?"

"Totally!" Naruto crowed. "This training is nothing! I'll be done by breakfast!"

"Stop bragging and prove it," Kakashi deadpanned. "Pick a tree and climb it."

Suzue glanced at the boys to see that they were focused on gathering their chakra at their feet. She bit her lip and looked at the trees in front of them. A moment later both boys took off to try their hand at climbing the tree with no hands. She watched as Sasuke used too much chakra and had to flip off the tree to keep from landing on his head. Naruto, on the other hand, used too little chakra and just slipped off the tree to land on his head. Suzue winced.

"Are you going to give it a try, Suzue-chan?" Kakashi called out drawing the attention of the two boys from their glaring matches with the trees.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto asked in concern.

Flushing a little, the lavender-haired girl waved him off before walking up to the tree. Then just like Kakashi she walked up the tree to a branch before walking on the underside of the branch. She grabbed the hem of her skirt to keep her whole outfit from sliding down to reveal her modesty shorts and tummy. A moment of fussing with it and Suzue looked back at her teammates to see what they thought of this.

"That is so cool! You're awesome Suzue-chan!" Naruto declared loudly causing said girl to flush deeply.

"Wow, Suzue-chan's not only knowledgeable about chakra but her control and stamina are better than the two of you," Kakashi eye-smiled. "Guess she's closer to becoming Hokage than a certain someone and that the Uchiha clan isn't worth much either."

"Sensei!" Suzue protested, thoroughly embarrassed. "That's not fair! I've been doing this for a couple years! And I wasn't that much better than them when I started."

"Really? Who taught you?" Kakashi asked with mild interest.

"My uncle...I needed better chakra control to use my kekkei genkai without killing myself," Suzue muttered before flipping herself over the branch so she could sit on it instead of just hanging upside down.

"Well, what I said still stands," Kakashi eye-smiled happily. Before she could stop herself Suzue made a face at him. He just laughed at her.

"Neh, Suzue-chan," Naruto called up to her in a sweet tone. It made Suzue peer over her branch at him wearily. "Since you already know how to do this, do you think you could help me?"

A glance at Kakashi to see if he had anything to say about this only revealed that he was paying more attention to climbing down the tree than to them. At least it looked that was what he was doing. So Suzue turned back to Naruto and nodded. He let out a cheer as Suzue tossed the kunai Kakashi had given her to the ground so that she could use it to slow her descent to the ground.

"Do you want tips too, Sasuke?" Suzue called over to the other boy once she was on the ground. Naruto protested his inclusion until Suzue reminded him, "He's our teammate."

"So?" Sasuke prompted once he had joined them.

"Alright...so, up until this point the two of you have been using chakra in a subconscious manner," Suzue started.

"Subconscious?" Naruto repeated with confusion.

"Without thinking about it," Suzue clarified. "The point of this exercise is to help you learn how to use chakra in a conscious manner. Once you do, you'll be using your chakra more efficiently."

"That's nice, but how is that going to help us?" Sasuke asked making Suzue purse her lips.

"Once you know how it feels to use chakra, you'll get this exercise," Suzue answered as she tugged on her skirt. "You'll be able to tell how much to use to climb the tree."

"Feel chakra?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the left a little.

"Because you use chakra without thinking, you don't really feel it. Kind of like...doing something over and over again...you forget about doing it?" Suzue tried to explain. "Oh maybe more like you see something every day in the same spot but you don't think about it being there anymore?"

"Huh?"

"...Okay, you know you can do chakra because you can use jutsu, right?" Suzue questioned Naruto.

"Yeah and chakra's what makes jutsu work," Naruto agreed.

"So...it's like making a cup of ramen for the first few times," Suzue compared making Naruto blink. "At first all you know is to put the water in and wait until it's ready to eat."

"Okay."

"This is helping you learn to know the perfect amount of water in the ramen, with the perfect amount of time to wait so that you have the perfect cup of ramen."

"That makes sense," Naruto nodded. "So I need to experiment to find the perfect amount...Totally got it now!"

"Did you do anything different than what Kakashi-sensei told us to do?" Sasuke asked sounding mildly annoyed.

"I...in the beginning I would channel chakra into my hand and try to stick that to the tree first so I had an idea of what to do, that might help you?" Suzue offered.

"Might?" Sasuke pressed.

"I had to learn to actively use my chakra as a kid. For some reason, I don't use chakra subconsciously. As a result, I'm more sensitive to my own chakra. I'm...not sure how it works for other people, though," Suzue explained with a shrug. She rocked a little on her feet.

"I'm sure it'll help if you say so Suzue-chan! You always have great ideas at becoming stronger!" Naruto declared making the girl blush.

"Anything else before we get started again?" Sasuke asked.

"There is a difference between channeling chakra into your hand to stick to the tree and channeling it into the bottom of your feet. So just because you figure out the hand thing doesn't mean you now know how to climb trees," Suzue informed them.

Sasuke smirked, "You totally thought you could after you figured out the hand thing didn't you?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Suzue denied, though he was right. She had nearly given herself a concussion that first time. Naruto was snickering at her now too. "It took me five days to figure it all out and just over a week to be able to stick to surfaces without thinking about it. Why don't you two see if you could do better?"

The two smirked and grinned at her before rushing back to their trees. Suzue watched them try and figure out how to stick their hands to the tree. She turned to look at Kakashi when he stopped just behind her.

"When do you think they'll figure out the hand trick?" Kakashi asked as he patted her head a couple of times.

"Probably before we leave to grab breakfast," Suzue offered. "It's not that hard and we learned something similar to it in the Academy."

"The leaf sticking exercise?" Kakashi mused. Suzue nodded. "Well, I would like you to just run up and down the tree until we break for breakfast. Then you'll be on guard duty for Tazuna until the boys pick it up."

"Will you still be resting? That fight took a lot out of you, didn't it? You've been hiding it, though," Suzue pointed out with a pout.

"Mah, I'm not as bad off as I could have been," Kakashi eye-smiled. "You ignoring my orders and my attempt to scare you three away with Zabuza's back story lead to me not having to use as much chakra as I may have needed to keep myself alive in the water prison."

"Really?" Suzue blinked as it suddenly clicked on why Kakashi didn't collapse after the battle. If he had been using chakra to stay alive in the water prison...then her just attacking instead of listening to the story had probably given Kakashi enough chakra to keep going. "Oh...Wait does that mean there are techniques that allow one to breathe underwater?"

"There are," Kakashi confirmed. "But they are very chakra heavy to use and not the best to use in a fight for long periods of time. You also need really good control of chakra."

"So...you won't be teaching me those anytime soon?" Suzue asked in a defeated tone.

"Maybe when we're back in Konoha," Kakashi chuckled. "Now go do what I told you."

"Yes, Sensei," Suzue acknowledged before turning to her tree.

* * *

The boys did figure out the hand trick by breakfast where they returned to Tazuna's house to eat. Afterward, the boys went back out to train, Kakashi went back to bed, and Suzue spent the day following Tazuna around as he informed all his workers that the bridge project was back on. This resulted in her finding out the reason Tazuna was even in Konoha to begin with. It was to secure a loan from a third party so that there was money to actually finish the bridge.

"The Daimyo was paying for it," Tazuna explained as they were walking to another worker's home. "But when Gatou started moving in the money for the bridge ended up being used to help out the citizens of the country. Since I was the head of the project, the Daimyo had me go and secure the loan for the bridge. Managed to get out before Gatou caught wind of it but figured he would find out about it and send his men after me."

"Why couldn't you use the money from the loan to pay for a higher ranking mission?" Suzue asked, curious. She couldn't remember any of this from the Story.

"I did, C-Rank was the highest I could afford. The loan isn't that big to begin with and I had thought that it would be fine. Didn't expect to get saddled with younglings like you three," Tazuna admitted.

"You didn't know what rank of shinobi Gatou was hiring," Suzue mused. "You thought a team of chunin would be enough."

"Yeah, that's what I figured I would get. Not three kids and their babysitter," Tazuna grumbled.

"Could be worst," Suzue offered with a faint smile. "The team you did get is a heavy combat team in training. You could have gotten a team that was tracking or intelligence gathering in training."

"I suppose that is a bit of luck," Tazuna agreed. "You three did do well when it was needed. And the boys are training to be better right?"

Suzue nodded and Tazuna went on, "What about you? Are the three of you going to be taking turns?"

"No, I already mastered what they are learning, so I'm on guard duty until they figure it out. Then we'll rotate who's guarding you, I think."

"Huh, so your sensei doesn't have anything else to teach you?"

"Not in a week, I think," Suzue shrugged. "And someone needs to guard you anyways. Even if we think Zabuza isn't going to attack for a week, doesn't mean Gatou won't try something else in the meantime."

"True enough I guess," Tazuna acknowledged as they walked up to another house. Suzue stayed quiet as Tazuna knocked on the door.

She didn't pay too much attention as Tazuna explained that he now had the money to finish the bridge and that everyone could come back to work. The guy he was talking to started making up excuses on why he couldn't come back. Suzue managed to hold in the sigh as she realized that this was yet another worker who wouldn't be coming back to work on the bridge. It seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance on whether or not the worker they talked to would agree to come back.

Tazuna let out his own sigh as the door closed and they left to go to the next house. Suzue followed after him, scanning the streets. She wasn't too worried about anyone from Gatou coming after them, but there were several pickpocketers around. There had already been three attempts of theft on them. But Suzue had a rather easy time of thwarting them. Coins were metal after all.

"I've been wanting to ask ever since the blond kid said his family name," Tazuna started drawing Suzue's attention, "But are his parents from Uzushio?"

"Uzushio?" Suzue repeated as she tried to place where she had heard that name from. Then it clicked: Whirlpool County. She shrugged in answer because even though she did know that Naruto's mother was from Uzushio, no one had informed her of that in this life. "Don't know, Naruto's an orphan. I don't think he even knows who his parents are."

"That so...explains some things about him," Tazuna mused.

They walked for a minute or so before Suzue got up the nerve to ask, "Why do you ask? Have you met another Uzumaki?"

"Once, after Uzushio fell. Wave got several refugees from the country. We still have a few living in the northern part of the county, not Uzumaki, he didn't stay. Just passed through," Tazuna explained. "Meet my wife among them actually."

"Ah," Suzue blinked, not sure what to say. She thought this was cool but it was also kind of sad.

"My dear Natsumi would talk about her old home. It sounded like a beautiful place. I wanted Wave to become a place similar to her own home. It's why I started designing the bridge to go to Fire Country. It would bring more prosperity to this country. And with that, I hoped this country would become as beautiful as her former Country."

"So you've been working on this bridge for nearly your whole life?" Suzue asked.

"You could say that. As a boy, I got apprenticed to a carpenter and it led from one thing to another. I fell in love with bridges and I was the one who ended up proposing the project to build bridges between the islands to the Daimyo," Tazuna explained.

"So this bridge isn't the first one you build," Suzue surmised as she recalled a map she had seen of Wave Country. She had been surprised to find that the country was actually a bunch of islands instead of one whole mass of land. "Are they all like the one you're building now?"

"For the most part," Tazuna laughed. Then sobered as they walked up to the next worker Tazuna was trying to recruit. This one also declined to return to work.

"Will you have enough people to finish the bridge?" Suzue asked as they left.

"Yeah, I also sent runners to the nearby islands to see if anyone from there will come to help out as well," Tazuna said with a sigh. "And even if I end up being the only one left to build it, I will continue to do so. I won't let my country die like this."

Suzue felt awkward as she couldn't think of anything to say to that declaration. What did one say to such a statement?

"Hopefully I'll stay alive long enough to see it through," Tazuna laughed off.

"We'll make sure you do. Naruto will if for no other reason then because you doubted him," Suzue offered with her own smile.

"That kid..." Tazuna chuckled. "Anyways, ten people left to see, then check in with the runners to see who else might be willing to help and then we can go home for a delicious meal from my daughter."

"Sounds good," Suzue agreed was they continued on to the next house.

* * *

A couple of days later had everyone sitting at the table for dinner with Sasuke and Naruto stuffing their faces with food. Suzue was watching with a sort of horrified fascination as they shoveled food into their mouths at an alarming rate. Didn't they end up throwing up?

"Sensei?" Suzue asked, not looking away from the boys.

"Hmm," Kakashi responded.

"Should they really be eating like this?" Suzue continued as they held out their plate for more. Sure enough, they started choking and hacking, nearly throwing up what they had just eaten.

"We need to keep up our strength," Naruto answered once he managed to keep his food down.

"We won't get stronger if we don't eat," Sasuke threw in once he could breathe without coughing.

Suzue felt her eyebrow twitch. "I can understand Naruto because we know that he didn't pay attention in the Academy. But you should know better Sasuke. Eating until you throw it back up only to eat more is not how you keep up your strength. You're not giving your body enough time to get the energy from the food by doing that."

"Really?" Naruto blinked as Sasuke's cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Suzue-chan would be correct," Kakashi eye-smiled at the boys. "So please do not give them any seconds Tsunami-san."

"Alright," she chuckled behind a hand. Both boys pouted.

"It won't matter anyways," Inari muttered drawing attention to him as he got down from the table.

"What was that?!" Naruto shouted after the boy.

"Thanks for dinner, Mom," the younger boy said ignoring Naruto. He then left the room.

"Geez, what's his deal?" Naruto muttered.

"Don't read too much into Inari's attitude," Tazuna sighed. "He lost the man whom he saw as his father."

"Sounds like a story there," Kakashi prompted as he leaned back in his chair.

"It is," Tazuna agreed.

"Excuse me, I'm going to go check on Inari," Tsunami announced before leaving the room.

"Sorry, she doesn't like to think of him much now either," Tazuna sighed. "But I'll tell you the story of our town's hero."

Suzue half remembered this story from her life before. But Tazuna was a good storyteller and she found herself captured by the tell of Kaiza the fisherman who became a hero of the town. He wasn't a hero for defeating the bad guy or righting a wrong, though. He was a different sort of hero. The everyday kind of hero who was always there when someone was in need. He helped everyone who needed it and did what needed to be done. The town loved him.

Then Gatou came to town.

"Kaiza stood up to Gatou. He tried to fight back but in the end, Gatou proved to be the more powerful. In front of everyone, Kaiza was put to death by Gatou," Tazuna finished grimly. "Everyone sort of lost hope after that, especially Inari who thought the man he saw as his father would always win."

Silence rang in the kitchen as they all took in the story. Then Naruto stood up and tried to run out the door only to have his feet catch on the chair. He fell flat on his face.

"Dobe, what are you doing?" Sasuke questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're thinking of training, forget it. You've already used up enough chakra today. Any more and you could die," Kakashi informed him.

"I'm going to prove it," Naruto announced as he got up. "I'm going to prove that in this world, heroes do exist!"

"What about your night watch?" Suzue asked making Naruto pause. "You still need to cover it and you should rest first for a few hours."

"Oh...yeah...I have mid watch again right?" Naruto asked with a scrunched up face. "I can go train after that!"

"Naruto..." Kakashi started then sighed. "Alright, you can do that if you want."

"Haha! I'm going to go get ready for bed then!" Naruto informed them before running off.

"Are you sure he'll die if he uses anymore chakra?" Suzue couldn't help but ask after Naruto had disappeared from sight. "He seems to have way too much energy for that to be a risk."

"Mah, maybe," Kakashi agreed. "But still good practice to know your limits and not overdo it. Strange things happen otherwise if you survive."

For some reason, Suzue thought Kakashi might be talking about Gai with that statement.

* * *

Two days later, Kakashi was dragging Suzue to the boy's training place to see how they were progressing before she would leave with Tazuna for the day. The two boys had disappeared after they had finished their watch to go continue to train and hadn't returned for breakfast. Neither were to be seen upon entering the clearing but Suzue picked up metal above them. Just as she was about to look up a kunai landed on the ground between her and Kakashi.

"Hehe," Naruto giggled from up on a branch he was resting on.

"Good job Naruto!" Suzue called back up to him as he started getting up. Then the blond began to slip backward. "Naruto...?"

"Sh-if he falls from that height..." Kakashi cursed as he tensed. Dread and panic filled Suzue's stomach as she watched her teammate tip further over the branch.

Just as it seemed that Naruto was really going to fall off, he caught himself with a, "Just kidding!"

"Ah.." Suzue started with a blink. Then relief set in making her annoyed. "Naruto...you should not play around like that."

"Come on! It was funny," Naruto reasoned.

"No, it wasn't!" Suzue snapped back. Then Naruto's feet disconnected from the branch. "Naruto!"

Before anyone could act, Sasuke was there grabbing Naruto by an ankle and hanging upside down.

"Dobe."

"Hey! I had everything under control!" Naruto countered, waving his arms around.

"I think they're fine Sensei," Suzue muttered. "I'm going back."

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto called after her, but she ignored him.

* * *

"Oh, you guys back? Man, you look dirty and worn out," Tazuna commented when the two boys finally came back for the night.

"Heh, we totally made it to the top of the tree!" Naruto announced from where he was leaning heavily on Sasuke. The dark haired boy just looked annoyed to having to basically carry Naruto back to the house.

"Did you now?" Kakashi hummed. "Then starting tomorrow, Sasuke, Naruto, you two will be helping protect Tazuna-san."

"Alright!" Naruto cried out, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Hn," Sasuke snorted as he walked to the table leaving Naruto to make his own way to a chair.

"Haha, I'm also worn out from today's work on the bridge. And it's almost complete!" Tazuna announced with a laugh as Naruto fell into a chair at a table.

"Don't overdo it, Father, Naruto-kun, alright?" Tsunami asked of the two of them. They made noises of agreement before Naruto turned to Suzue.

"Hey, Suzue-chan, I'm sorry for this morning."

"Wha?" Suzue blinked taken off guard.

"I scared you right? That's what Teme said anyways," Naruto explained. "I was just having fun. Didn't mean to hurt you."

Suzue felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and she looked away from Naruto's face. "...It's fine. As long as you don't do something like that again. There are good pranks and bad pranks."

"So that one was a bad prank?" Naruto asked. "What would a good prank be then?"

"...I thought painting the Hokage monument was neat," Suzue admitted.

"Really?! That was totally awesome, huh? Even though Iruka-sensei made me scrub all the paint off," Naruto laughed.

"Why?"

"What?" Naruto blinked as he looked in Inari's direction.

"Why do you guys even bother to work so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men!" Inari shouted at Naruto. "No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work...When facing the strong one, the weak will only end up getting killed!"

"Whatever brat, I ain't like you," Naruto huffed.

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy! What the hell do you know about me?! I'm different from you, you're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life can be!"

"So," Naruto started in a low tone. "It's okay for you to pose as the star of a tragedy and cry about it all day long? Then you can just keep crying forever, you little sissy!"

Silence fell except for Inari's sniffles. Then Naruto got up from the table and left the room with a mutter about using the bath. Inari then pushed himself away from the table and ran out the door. Without a word, Sasuke left as well, following after Naruto. Suzue was pretty sure he was going to make sure Naruto didn't drown in the bath or something like that.

"Sorry about the outburst," Kakashi finally said as he too got up. "If you don't mind, I'll take my leave."

Suzue watched as Kakashi exited the house. Tazuna sighed. "Well, that was...exciting."

"Father..."

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night. It was a long day," Tazuna announced and disappeared upstairs. Tsunami sighed and started gathering dishes.

"I'll help," Suzue offered as she got up herself.

"Thank you," Tsunami agreed, knowing that Suzue would just end up hovering awkwardly around the kitchen until she was done or accept the offer of help.

"Sorry Naruto was mean about what he said to Inari-kun," Suzue offered after a few minutes.

"But not about what he said?" Tsunami noted.

"...I think Naruto is right," Suzue shrugged, staring at the dish she was drying. "He could've said it nicer I guess. Though I suppose for Naruto that was nice."

"I'm sure his parents must despair of him if that was nice," Tsunami sighed.

Suzue paused making the older woman stop what she was doing as well. "Naruto...Naruto's an orphan. Has been since he was very young. He's never even known anyone to call family."

"I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"Sasuke's an orphan as well. But he knew his family in the beginning. Then every single person he could call blood relative was killed," Suzue continued staring into space. "So for those two...seeing Inari-kun cry and whine and tell us that we can't do it is...annoying. After all, he still has a mother and a grandfather who clearly love him. And his grandfather isn't giving up."

"...What about you?" Tsunami asked making Suzue turn and blink at her. "You say that Inari is annoying to the boys but you always seem annoyed by him too. Though you keep your mouth shut."

"Well...I..." Suzue tried as she felt herself flush. "I'm...I have it pretty good compared to the boys. I still have a family."

"As my son can prove, that doesn't mean you had an easy life. Just a different sort of difficulty," Tsunami pointed out.

"...I'm sort of an orphan as well I guess," Suzue admitted. "My mother died when I about six months old. Then my father disappeared when I was about four. We still don't know what happen to him. I...I have two older siblings who look out for me and an uncle when he's in town. I also have a grandmother I talk to regularly when I can. I live. I don't have much to complain about."

"There's a lot more to it than just that isn't there?" Tsunami asked when Suzue didn't continue.

"There's always more. I just know that there are people who have it worst than I do," Suzue shrugged. "So why should I complain. Complaining never gets anything done and crying is only good for a release of pent up stress."

Suzue's breath hitched when Tsunami turned and gave her a hug. The lavender-haired girl swallowed in an effort to keep the tears that were now threatening to fall at bay.

"Just because there are people who have it worse doesn't mean that what you go through is any least difficult," Tsunami told her. "And I'm sure your team understands that."

"...I live by myself because it's easier for everyone if I do," Suzue confessed. "The boys don't understand why. After all, I still have family, shouldn't I live with them?"

"Well, just because they don't understand doesn't mean that they care any bit less for you," Tsunami said. "And I'm sure they would help you even when they don't get it."

"...Yeah, I guess they would," Suzue murmured then noticed Kakashi heading back to the house. She detangled herself from Tsunami's arms who blinked at her in confusion just as Kakashi opened the door.

"Suzue-chan?" Kakashi called noticing that something was off.

"I'm fine," Suzue threw over her shoulder with a wide grin.

Kakashi studied her for a moment before slowly nodding. "Alright, I'm going to go check on the boys and make sure they haven't killed each other...or downed."

"You know, I can't tell you those two boys are the best of friends, or bitter enemies," Tsunami confessed once Kakashi had disappeared.

"Honestly, they're just brothers who happen to not have the same parents," Suzue snorted. "The type who argue and fight over everything but heaven help you if you ever try to pick a fight with the other. Though I don't think they've realized that they have that sort of relationship."

"I can see it," Tsunami laughed as she went back to washing the dishes. "And you're their long-suffering sister who puts up with it all."

"...If you say so," Suzue muttered, ducking her head.

"You know," Tsunami started after a few minutes of silence. "This is the first time since my husband was killed that I've actually felt that I might have hope that things will turn out well."

"...Really?"

"Yeah, I hope...I hope that Inari will gain that back too," Tsunami confessed in a soft tone. "And I think, if Naruto-kun lives up to his promises, my son will."

"I agree," Suzue said thinking of a story she had read in another life. Even though the details were blurry now, she did remember that Wave had a happy ending. "And, Naruto will. He always keeps his promises."

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei," Suzue called out to the silver-haired man as they were preparing to leave. Ever since she woke up in the middle of the night and recalled that Zabuza and Haku should be attacking the bridge today, she had been deliberating on whether or not to mention having a guard on the house too. She was fairly certain it had been attacked in the Story as Inari had a change of heart when Naruto saved his mom.

"What is it Suzue-chan?" Kakashi prompted when she didn't say anything more.

"Do...do you think was should have someone guarding the house too? What if Gatou sends someone here?"

"Hmm, that's a good point," Kakashi mused. He took a moment to ponder it over. "I have an idea."

Suzue blinked and waited for Kakashi to continue but he didn't say anything. Sasuke caught her eye and threw her a look that clear ask 'What-was-that-about?' She shrugged and followed Tazuna and Kakashi out the door.

"Before we leave for the day," Kakashi started once they were all outside. "Tsunami, do you mind if I leave another guard?"

"Another guard?" Tsunami asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Kakashi started then went through a series of handseals. It wasn't until he slammed his palm on the ground that Suzue realized he was summoning something. There was a poof of smoke and a lazy looking, medium-sized, brown dog appeared. He looked around then huffed.

"Would you mind if he was left with you?" Kakashi eye-smiled to the bewildered looking Tsunami.

"I...guess that would be fine?" Tsunami said slowly blinking at the dog who stared at her. "I'm assuming he's trained..."

"Don't even chew on things," the dog grunted making the older woman jump.

"He's trained," Kakashi confirmed. "And he's just here as a precaution."

"Alright..."

"Great," Kakashi beamed at her. "And please take good care of Naruto-kun. He should sleep for most of the day."

"I understand," Tsunami nodded.

"Good, and you guard the house, protect everyone inside," Kakashi ordered the dog he had summoned.

"Understood boss," the dog said with a nod. Suzue just couldn't stop staring. Even though she knew there were animals that talked in this world, this was the first time she had ever met one and heard them speak in a human tongue.

"Let's go," Kakashi called out and lead them away from the house. Suzue kept throwing glances back at the dog until he disappeared into the house after Tsunami. "Suzue-chan?"

"Eep!" Suzue squeaked in surprised at her sensei's voice. She flushed red and turned her attention to Kakashi who was looked at her expectantly. "Ah...um...will, um, Dog-san be enough?"

"Bisuke-kun?" Kakashi asked. "He should be fine. If the house is attacked I'm sure it would just be low-level thugs and the like. Bisuke will be able to handle such things with ease."

"Okay," Suzue nodded. They spent most of the walk with Tazuna asking about the dog. Kakashi explained the basics about summons. She knew nearly everything he was saying having had a few lessons on summons in the Academy. The only new thing she learned was when Kakashi mentioned that his father had been contracted with wolves instead of dogs. When Tazuna asked why Kakashi didn't' have the same contract, Sensei just shrugged and said something about taking more after his mother than his father.

From what she remembered about Kakashi's past from the Story, Sakumo, Kakashi's father, had committed suicide from a fail mission in which he chose to save his comrades instead of complete the mission. Suzue was pretty sure that failed mission was what started the Third Shinobi War but the ninja that 'started' the war with a failed mission was never named in class. So she wasn't completely sure about that. From the Story, she knew that Kakashi hated his father until Obito happened and she wondered if that had factored in why he was contracted with Dogs instead of Wolves like his father.

Tazuna greeted his workers who had showed up already once they reached the bridge and some greeted him back while others just looked around nervously. Some of the more willing to help with the bridge greeted her having become familiar to her present of being there for the last week. As she walked back and forth on the bridge to check for anything out of the ordinary she greeted them back. Sasuke trailed after her, clearly unsure what he was supposed to do but not willing to say so...yet.

Once done with the inspection, she went to her usual spot she hung out for the day and sat down. Sasuke hovered for a moment before sitting down next to her. He watched as the workers started up for the day before turning to her.

"Do we just sit here all day?" Sasuke asked.

"For the most part," Suzue answered with a sigh. "I get up about every hour and walk around the bridge to make sure everything is fine and nothing is sneaking up on us. But for the most part...I just sit here doing nothing."

"Hn," Sasuke sighed sounding depressed.

"Welcome to guard duty," Suzue said dryly making Sasuke grunt. "Sometimes I'll lend a helping hand if they need it...but I think it makes some of the workers uncomfortable."

"Why?" Sasuke asked sounding confused.

"Because I look like a child and can carry more weight than any of the men here," Suzue answered.

"So?"

"...Outside a shinobi village...you don't usually see that," Suzue pointed out.

"Hn."

And that was just proof that Sasuke was very much from a ninja village. Even civilians from a ninja village wouldn't bat an eye at a child looking someone carrying something twice their weight. Well, as long as they knew that child was a shinobi or a shinobi in training. Having memories of growing up in a world where people couldn't control the elements and jump over buildings in one leap, she sort of understood how strange and...creepy it could be to have people who did things like that. Though she had noticed that she was slowly growing immune to that.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked pulling Suzue from her thoughts.

"Um..." Suzue blinked as she looked around for silver hair and didn't see it. A quick look at the metal around them let her find where he was. She gestured to the top of the crane. "Up there."

"Hn."

They fell into silence again, and Suzue had a feeling that today was going to be a long day. But wasn't Zabuza and Haku suppose to attack today? She was pretty sure it was supposed to be today. Naruto had overslept after all which she was pretty happened to allow Naruto to rescue Tazuna's family. When did the two Kiri-nin attack? She couldn't remember.

Suzue found herself with too much nervous energy for the day as she waited for an attack. She fidgeted with her skirt, her fingers, adjusted her headband several times, and even redid her hair once. Checking the bridge only helped a little to take the nerves energy away. Sasuke kept giving her glances. Apparently, her fidgeting annoyed him enough that he started talking to her to give her something else to focus on. It helped a little. But butterflies seemed to have taken up residence in her stomach for the day.

Naruto came barreling onto the bridge mid morning complaining loudly about them leaving him behind.

"You could have woken me up!"

"You needed sleep," Suzue pointed out. "You even slept through your watch, Kakashi took it over by the way."

"I would have been fine!" Naruto declared.

"It was Kakashi-sensei's decision, Dobe," Sasuke informed him. "So get over it."

"Hey, if it was you you'll be upset too!" Naruto shot back.

"But it wasn't me, was it," Sasuke huffed. "Guess you're just lazy too."

"Am not!"

"Boys," Suzue sighed making them turn to her. Kakashi had trained them to listen to her when they got into their fights after an incident their first week as a team had landed her in the hospital. It had been an easy fix and she was in and out but Kakashi had been rather pissed at the boys. She still wasn't sure what he had done to them while she was being treated but after that, they always listened to her if she interrupted their argument.

"We're on guard duty," Suzue reminded them. "Kakashi might let you get away with it at the house but you should do it here when we might get attacked at any moment."

"Hn," Sasuke huffed turning away from her. She recognized that as his 'You're-right-so-I'll-listen-to-you' huff.

"Whatever," Naruto grumped as he laced his fingers behind his head. "So what do we do?"

"Really? Just sit here and be ready if an attack happens," Suzue explained.

"You're joking," Naruto pleaded. He groaned when Suzue just shook her head and collapsed in the spot next to her. "Do you at least think that Zabuza and that Hunter-guy will attack today?"

"Maybe," Suzue shrugged.

"Erg, this is going to be booooring," Naruto whined.

"Welcome to guard duty," Suzue grunted as she started fiddling with her skirt again.

Naruto proved to be better at distracting Suzue from her nerves than Sasuke for the simple fact that he was better at talking with people than the dark-haired boy. When he got bored with that he would ask a couple of questions at the workers who would wander nearby. They would usually humor him by answering his questions for a few minutes before informing him they had to get back to work.

Lunch saw one of the more nervous workers walk back towards town and not come back. Suzue was familiar enough with how things had been going with the bridge to know that the worker wasn't coming back. Naruto noticed and started questioning the others about it before Suzue pulled him back next to her and explained that some of the workers would just quite like that. He was torn between that not being more interesting and indigent at someone just giving up.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a similar fashion to the morning with the only difference being that they started playing a game to help them pass the time. The game itself was designed to help ninja practice handseals. One person would call out different seals and the other person would have to make the seal as quickly and perfectly as they could. Suzue proved to be the best at it since one of her greatest worries was messing up a seal for a jutsu in the middle of battle. So she practiced handseals nearly every day. Naruto proved the worst since he had never actually played the game before. He did have fun, though.

Eventually, the sun started to set and work on the bridge was done for the day. Kakashi joined them back on the ground as everyone said goodbye to each other. Suzue found herself feeling very frustrated and confused as they walked back to the house. Why hadn't they attacked today? They should have, right?

"Suzue-chan, is there something wrong?" Kakashi called out to her. She flushed as she realized that Kakashi was calling her out about how she was acting. Some part of her wished she could just tell him everything but...that was just a bad idea all around. Especially since she was beginning to realize that she couldn't fully trust in what she remembered of a story she had read in another life.

"...I just really thought that Zabuza and...Hunter-nin would attack today," Suzue admitted wincing at the fact that she nearly said Haku instead of Hunter. That statement should be safe enough to say. "It's been a week."

"Well, a week was just a guess," Kakashi offered. "And we don't know for sure if our theory about Hunter-san being in league with Zabuza is really true."

"...I guess," Suzue sighed with a pout. She felt stressed and wrung out. It was only going to get worse too, the longer it took for them to attack. Kakashi left it at that which Suzue was glad for.

The girl did wonder if there was a way for her to confirm that what she remember of the Story was true. A glance at Naruto and she recalled that Naruto should have met with Haku in the woods while he was training. If that happened then...things should be close enough to the Story that they would attack. If not...then she guessed things were more different than she thought.

But how to ask?

* * *

Author Note: I was hoping to get through all of wave...but more ended up happening then I thought. So Bridge Battle next chapter. It will happen. Next update should be this Saturday/Sunday, October 8th or 9th. Thank you for reading and thank you everyone who left a review or favorited the story!


	4. Chapter 4 - Wave Arc Part Three

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Naruto is not something I have the rights to. I'm just playing in the sandbox.

Warnings: Anxiety, panic attacks, typical Naruto violence, mental trauma, death, killing in cold-blood

Author Note: I am so sorry about the week delay. I'm just going to say, real life happened. But here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter: Four - Wave Arc Part Three

* * *

"You want me to stay behind to guard the house?" Suzue asked the next morning as everyone was preparing to leave for the bridge again.

"Yes, I'll leave Bisuke-kun with you as back up," Kakashi confirmed. "You were right in thinking that a man like Gatou wouldn't hesitate to go after his target's family. So we'll take turns on who stays behind. Today it'll be you!"

Suzue blinked and looked at Naruto who was putting on his shoes to leave and Inari who was watching them wearily from the table. She never did figure out a way to ask Naruto if he met anyone in the woods, so she still had no idea what was going to happen. With a sigh, she answered Kakashi. "Okay, I'll guard the house."

"Good girl!" Kakashi eye-smiled at her as he gave her head a couple of pets. She frowned at being treated like a dog.

"Man, it's going to be boring with you not there and only Teme," Naruto complained. "But I'll practice the handseal game really hard and get tons better!"

"Okay," Suzue acknowledged. "Try not to get into too many arguments with Sasuke. And both of you avoid dumping each other into the ocean...please."

"I make no promises," Sasuke said from the doorway.

"If anyone is going to end up in the ocean it's going to be you Teme," Naruto taunted.

"Boys," Kakashi drawled lazily. They stopped their fight with twin huffs. Suzue felt her lips twitch in amusement.

The bridge group left a few minutes later after Kakashi had summoned Bisuke-kun again. Suzue and the brown dog had a staring contest before Tsunami called for the two of them to come back in. Kakashi's summon apparently had his own spot in the house as he made for an area in the living room the ninja had been using. Suzue noted that it gave him a good view of the door and windows.

The lavender-haired girl stood awkwardly as she wondered what she should do. She had a system at the bridge but...guarding a house and the people in it was different. Focusing on the metals around her, she picked up her team who hadn't left her range yet but there was nothing else out of the ordinary. With a sigh, Suzue turned her attention back to the 'normal' world and watched as Tsunami head upstairs with an arm full of cleaning supplies while humming something.

Inari got up from the table and followed his mother upstairs leaving Suzue alone with Bisuke who looked like he was about to fall asleep. Her teeth caught her bottom lip as she tried to figure out something to do while on guard duty at the house. At least on the bridge, she could watch the workers work on it. Here...Tsunami might let her help with the dishes after meals and keep the living area they were using clean, but she had a feeling the woman would draw the line at any other chores that needed to be done.

"Could possibly clean the bath?" Suzue muttered to herself. She flushed when she noticed Bisuke giving her a look. Looking away from the dog, she decided that she wasn't going to go try and clean the bath. Her eyes fell on her team's' packs. Suzue never did get around to finishing the mending she had tried to do the first night here. She hadn't seen anyone else try to do it either.

Happy to finally find something to do besides just standing around like a dork, Suzue went over to the packs and started rummaging around in them. She still wasn't sure how Naruto could fit so many cups of ramen in his pack and still have everything he needed.

"You seriously going through Boss's stuff?" Bisuke asked making Suzue jump in surprise. Once her heart was no longer racing, she looked over her shoulder at the dog who was still just laying there watching her. She blinked at him not sure how to answer. Bisuke huffed, "Why are you going through Boss's things?"

"I'm...He got in a fight? And...I was planning on mending his...outfit?" Suzue offered, not sure what the dog was getting at. She guessed it was a bit rude to go through the others' things...

"And you're just going through his pack for it? Isn't that a no-no among you humans?"

"...I guess? For some? Kakashi-sensei didn't seem to mind before. Neither did the boys," Suzue shrugged. She eyed Bisuke for a moment longer before going back to digging through the pack for the outfit.

"Humans are weird," Bisuke muttered as Suzue found what she was looking for and pulled the clothing out. "But I guess I now have bragging rights to meeting Boss's pups first."

"...Pups?" Suzue asked looking back at the dog from where she was picking up the pile of clothes.

"You and the two boys? You three are the Boss's pups."

"He's not our dad, though," Suzue pointed out with a frown.

"He's still teaching you things isn't he?"

"Yeah..."

"Then, you are his pups."

"Kay," Suzue decided to just agree. She did have the passing thought of what Kakashi would do if his three 'pups' went and called him Dad. Maybe she could get the boys to actually do it with her?

Ten minutes later had Suzue blinking down at Sasuke's shirt she was mending. Her focus turned to the metals around her instead of the clothing and she caught what seemed like swords being waved around while heading towards the house. Blinking to bring Sasuke's shirt back into focus, she turned to look out the window even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see anything yet. Bisuke lifted his head turning to look towards her.

"Something wrong?"

"...I think we're about to be attacked," Suzue confessed as she started setting the clothes to the side. She remembered the house being attacked in the manga at the same time the bridge attack happened. Naruto ended up saving the day and changing Inari's heart. But...Naruto had left to go to the bridge already...hadn't he? And then came back in the nick of time to save Tsunami and Inari? She couldn't remember.

"How far out?" Bisuke asked getting to his feet.

"Just under to 2 kilometers, and heading this way. At civilian speed. There's two I think. And I'm pretty sure they're samurai. They aren't carrying enough metal to be ninja."

"We'll set up an ambush about a quarter of a kilometer from here. You don't pick anything else heading this way?"

"...No," Suzue shook her head. She glanced up at the ceiling. If she focused she could hear Tsunami still humming upstairs. Inari was moving around as she could hear his footsteps. With a sigh, she turned back to the dog. "So ambush?"

"Let's go find a good spot," Bisuke suggested as she trotted to the front door.

Suzue flicked her eyes up to the ceiling again and had the number one rule of body guarding run through her head: Always know where the body is. Leaving the house meant that she wouldn't know where the bodies she was guarding would be. She would just have an idea of their location. Still, taking out the threat before it reached the bodies would probably be the number two rule of body guarding.

She debated for a moment on whether or not to alert Tsunami that she was leaving, before deciding not to say anything and following Bisuke out the door. The moment she closed the door had the both of them flickering out of view as the sprinted towards where Suzue could sense the two samurai coming from. About a quarter of a kilometer in Bisuke stopped them.

"How good are you with traps?"

"Naruto's better," Suzue answered with a frown. It was true. Suzue was only just above average with traps and that was only because she could create traps with no obvious triggers unless someone knew how her kekkei genkai worked.

"You haven't had your first kill yet, right?" Bisuke asked in serious tones.

Suzue flinched a little and felt heat rise to her cheeks. She shook her head in answer. The girl knew at some point she would be taking someone else's life but...she wanted to hold off on that point for as long as possible. Mostly because even with all the Academy instructions and desensitization they had gone through, she still wasn't sure how she was going to react to actually killing a living human being. She was pretty sure part of the problem was because everything in the Academy had been geared towards actual children, not children with adult minds.

"Well, we'll just work on knocking them out then," Bisuke mused giving one of his ears a scratch. "If they are just samurai, a simple trap should be good enough. How much time do you think we have to set one up before they show up?"

"About twenty minutes," Suzue answered after a moment of thought.

"Good, then we should..." Bisuke started before launching into what Suzue thought was a way to overly complicated plan for knocking out two samurai.

"Um, Bisuke-kun?" Suzue managed to get out after a few minutes. Butterflies took up residence in her stomach at having to interrupt someone talking and she felt like she was choking. "Don't you think that's a little too complicated? I have a way to knock them out from standing on a tree branch."

"Really? What is it?" Bisuke asked.

With a deep breath, Suzue fished out two coins out of her pocket and held one up for the dog to see. She then Pushed on it sending it flying towards a tree. She carefully kept chakra light enough so the coin didn't do more than make a barely noticeable dent in the tree. Once it hit she released the chakra and the coin fell to the ground. Bisuke went over and sniffed at the mark the coin left and the coin itself before turning back to face her.

"You good enough to control that so you don't kill them?" Bisuke asked.

"Yes," Suzue nodded. Her uncle had made sure of that.

"Works for me then," Bisuke huffed as he made his way over to her. "You don't like overly-complicated plans do you?"

"Er...no? I'm more likely to freeze in the middle of them."

"What about the other two pups?"

"...Naruto can't keep complicated plans straight in his head and will change them at a moment's notice for something better if he sees it. Sasuke can work with complicated plans but he's not fond of them."

"Boss must despair over that," Bisuke huffed. "He loves making complicated plans."

And Suzue could totally see that. It was probably why Kakashi had allowed Zabuza to kick him into the lake in the first part. Sensei had a complicated plan that totally fell through as soon as Zabuza trapped him. Then there was that one team building 'mission' Kakashi had put them through. Not that the boys knew Kakashi had done that to them, and Suzue was so keeping what she found out about Sensei to herself.

"Let's get into position," Bisuke suggested bring Suzue back to the present. "You know where you want to set up."

Suzue took a moment to pinpoint where the samurai were and what path they were most likely to take before nodding. She moved a couple meters over and hopped up into a tree. Bisuke followed.

"Back up plan if this one fails, I'll attack one from above. That should distract them enough for you to take out the other."

"Okay," Suzue agreed and the brown dog hopped into another tree across from her.

A little over five minutes later, the two samurai that Suzue had been tracking came into view. They had put their swords away and were smirking at each other talking about what they wanted to do to Tsunami. It wasn't...pleasant. The two didn't even bother to look up so didn't see the girl and dog in the trees. Suzue held out two coins and Pushed them with a bit of chakra once they were in the correct position for her to hit them. The men collapsed like puppets with their strings cut as soon as the coins hit.

Jumping down, Suzue checked to make sure they were really knocked out and not just stun or dead. They were so she started tieing them up.

"Since we're not killing them and they are civilians, we should turn them over to the local authorities," Bisuke said making Suzue pause.

"Um...I'm not sure...I'm not sure that may be possible," Suzue informed the dog who tilted his head in question. "Gatou has a choke hold on the country. I'm pretty sure the local authorities are under his power. We turn these two in and they'll just be set free."

"And then we'll have more people attacking..." Bisuke sighed. "It'll be easier to just kill them then and bury the bodies."

"I...I don't know any Doton Jutsu to bury them with," Suzue pointed out as she eyed the two men she had just finished tieing up. It would be easy enough to kill them. A kunai was sharp enough to drag across the neck, severing the blood vessels there. No, she didn't want to that, blood would spray everywhere. Best to just nick a vein. Where was a vein again?

Was she really considering killing these two men?

"I would suggest just dumping them in the ocean...but I don't think we can find enough rocks or something to weigh them down," Bisuke continued before sighing. "Is there a vigilant group we could hand them over to?"

"...I don't think so," Suzue answered watching the two men breath. She started flipping the coins she had been holding in between her fingers. "Can't we just leave them tied up?"

"Guarding and keeping prisoners at the same time is tough," Bisuke informed her. "You have to keep an eye on both and we aren't expecting Boss and the other pups back until sunset. And who knows what shape they'll be in. If we're being attacked, chances are so are they. How long can you really keep them prisoner for? Where would you even keep them? In the house?"

"I could..." Suzue mumbled feebly. The dog just gave her a look. He was right, keeping these two as prisoners would be more work for her and just endanger the people she was to guard. Bisuke had also reminded her that the rest of her team was being attacked on the bridge by Haku and Zabuza. Suzue wanted to go help them and she would never be able to do that if she kept these two as prisoners.

"I'm sorry, pup, if I had known there wasn't anybody to turn these guys over to, I would have just had you kill them outright or done it myself," Bisuke apologized. "I can still kill them, but we need to figure out a way to dispose of the bodies."

"You'll get blood on your fur," Suzue pointed out absently as she continued to stare at the still breathing men. "The best way for you to kill them is to rip out their throats with your teeth. That'll get blood over you and it would be messy."

"It wouldn't be the first time for me pup," Bisuke pointed out.

"But it would upset Tsunami and Inari," Suzue countered, coins still flipping between fingers. "It would be better if I just nick a vein. The one in the neck. It would only take them a few minutes to bleed out and since it's a vein it won't spray. A kunai would be easier to clean than fur."

"Pup?"

The tone made Suzue turn to blink at Bisuke who seemed to be frowning at her. "You okay?"

"They taught all this to us in the Academy."

"That wasn't what I asked."

"I've done something like this before. It was with animals, though...rabbits, birds..."

"I know that, but you're still not answering my question. Are you okay, Pup?"

"I'm fine..." Suzue murmured softly with a frown. "I still don't know how to dispose of the bodies, though. We can't just eat them like the animals. Too much...too much."

"Don't like human anyway," Bisuke huffs. "Our best bet is to just toss them into the ocean. Even if we can't weigh them down. I suppose you don't know how to walk on water yet..."

"I know how to walk on water," Suzue admitted as she eyed the swords the men had at their waist. Bisuke gave her a surprised look as an idea started to form in her mind. "And we may not need weights to make them sink and stay at the bottom of the ocean."

"Oh?"

"I'll...I'll need to retie them with ninja wire and then using their swords...I can use my kekkei genkai to Push their swords into the ocean floor. It should be enough force that the swords won't come loose and have them float up when the bodies start to bloat."

"That could work. And you won't even have to get your hands bloody. Just take them to the ocean and Push them down," Bisuke mused, his tail wagged once. "Now to just get them to the ocean..."

"It'll be easy enough for me to carry them if a bit awkward," Suzue informed him as she pulled her spoil of ninja wire from her hip pouch. Her hand was trembling, but that was normal for her. She was always anxious and was prone to trembling when she was feeling overwhelmed. Was she feeling overwhelmed?

To be honest, Suzue felt numb, almost like she was in a dream. She retied the two men with ninja wire, making them even more secure as she was going to be carrying both over her shoulders. She finished by tying the wire to the hilt of their swords. Bisuke continued to watch her as she sat back on her heels and took a deep breath. Her stomach was turning.

"You doing alright, Pup?" Bisuke asked when she didn't move to start carrying them.

"Fine," Suzue choked out. She swallowed, throat feeling really dry all of a sudden. A drop of sweat rolled down her back. Her hands felt clammy. It was warm. No, it was cold. She wasn't even sure anymore.

"Don't think," Suzue muttered to herself. "Just do."

Bisuke ears twitched at her voice and she wasn't sure how to interpret the look he was giving her. With a grunt she got both bodies over her shoulders, arms wrapped around their waists to keep them in place. It was really awkward. She was tall but she was also only a thirteen-year-old girl. And these two were full grown men. The only reason she could even pull something like this off was because of her insane (according to the boys) training regimen she had been keeping to and figuring out how to use chakra to enhance the body.

Chakra had been a foreign concept to her when she had been born into this world. And in one way or another she had been aware of herself and this new body since she had been born. She didn't actually remember her first couple of years but she did remember being aware. That awareness had allowed for Suzue to become over aware of the chakra in her body. To the point that she hadn't let her chakra do things that for everyone else in this world was perfectly normal. Like naturally enhancing one's physical body when they started ninja training.

No one had noticed what she had been doing to herself until she entered the Academy. When they started the physical conditioning it had become painfully obvious that something was wrong when she couldn't keep up with her peers. They outstripped her by such a large margin that the teachers had become concerned there was something wrong with her. But the physical she had gone through to enter the Academy had revealed nothing. There should have been no problems with her. She should have been able to keep up with her classmates.

The first three months of her Academy career had been hell. Suzue had no idea what was wrong and she had been terrified that she would never be a shinobi. Nearly everyone was telling her she couldn't, that she should just drop out to find something civilian to do. If it weren't for the fact that dropping out of the Academy meant she would have had to move back in with her family whom she had just moved away from when she entered the Academy she probably would have dropped from the program. But she didn't. She pushed through, halfway convinced that if she just pushed harder she could catch up.

It was when her uncle came back from his latest mission and found out what was going that things got resolved. He had dragged her to a medic that specialized in chakra who figured out that she wasn't letting her chakra enhance her body like it was supposed to naturally. Suzue then had to spend the next six months in chakra rehab to learn how to enhance her body with chakra. She wasn't the only one in chakra rehab though she was differently the youngest there which had gotten her so many weird looks. Nearly all the people who had to go through this type of rehab had gotten their chakra coils heavily damaged to the point that the chakra in those coils no longer knew how to enhance that part of the body.

Everyone had been baffled about why an eight-year-old girl had this problem for her whole body and Suzue had never shared her theory about it. That chakra had been such a foreign thing to her otherworldly mind that she had pulled the chakra in so much into herself so that she felt 'normal' again. Even with all the trouble it had caused it did lead to the discovery that the more her body was able to do without the enhancements, the more she could do with them. As proven when the Academy teachers had told her to stop hindering herself once her rehab was completed and she had blown all her peers away.

After all, Suzue had spent several months trying to catch up with her peers. She had been able to narrow the gap between herself and them. She still continued to train without chakra enhancements and she could keep up with nearly all her peers without chakra. With chakra, she was simply better than nearly all of them in strength, speed, and stamina. The only problem was remembering to turn the chakra on to use said enhancements as she never figured how to make it automatic like everyone else had.

Suzue enhanced her body with chakra and it was easy enough to carry the men, if awkward because they were men. Using chakra even helped her body relax a bit. She hadn't noticed how tense she had become until the chakra had made the muscles relax. It didn't take long to make it to the ocean and Suzue was grateful that where they came out was a place that Tsunami and Inari couldn't see from the house. Even as she walked out onto the waves.

"This is far enough if you just want to dump them and send them down," Bisuke told her as he came to a stop. Suzue looked at him then the water bobbing under her feet.

"...They'll drown," Suzue murmured with a gulp.

"That's the idea Pup," Bisuke pointed out. "Less messy than tearing their necks open."

The lavender-haired girl said nothing. She knew he was right, it would be less messy. But...she remembered dying in another life. Suzue hadn't drowned in water. Wasn't even sure if drowning had been what killed her. It could have been blood loss. But she remembered blood filling one of her lungs, of choking on it, of trying to breathe only to cough trying to get the thick fluid out of her lung. Only it hadn't worked because more blood kept coming in.

That trying to breathe, choking, had been the most painful part of her death. And...Suzue didn't want to put anyone through that if she could help it. Which in this case she could.

"What are you doing?" Bisuke asked as Suzue swung one of the men off her shoulder. When Suzue pulled out a kunai and nicked the clavicle vein in the neck Bisuke added, "I told you we didn't have to bleed them."

"Drowning's painful," Suzue said as she nicked the other guy's vein. She had to grab and hold both men's shirts to keep them from going under. The first man's eyes fluttered but didn't wake up.

It took several minutes for them to bleed out. Suzue stayed there, crouched, watching as the ocean lapped away the blood draining from their body. Bisuke didn't say anything either as he watched as well. Once the men finally stopped breathing, it took Suzue a few moments before she could make herself let go and Push their swords down to the ocean floor.

Suzue had never seen a human corpse before, in either life. It...was strange. The men had almost looked like they were just asleep, she supposed because they were too fresh to seem lifeless yet. The ocean floor below her was under two kilometers. She could feel exactly where they were. If she wanted, she could dive down and find them.

"Pup, we should get back to the house, we've been gone long enough," Bisuke spoke, breaking Suzue from her thoughts. She nodded, her eyes drifting back to the point in the ocean where she could sense the two swords keeping the men she had just killed bound to the ocean floor. "Pup!"

The bark Bisuke let out startled Suzue enough that she focused more on the brown dog then the bodies below them. He started trotting away with a glance back at her after a few steps. The look clearly said, 'well, come on'. Suzue hesitated a moment but followed Bisuke back to the house.

The house looked fine once it came into view and Suzue could study it. She was even sure she could still hear Tsunami humming upstairs as she cleaned. They made their way to the dock that was right next to the house and Suzue jumped up onto it only to have her world spin. She stumbled down to her knees as she tried to catch herself.

"Pup?" Bisuke asked as he hopped up next to her and nosed at her check. "You look pale. Paler."

"Fine," Suzue breathed out as she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to get the dizziness over with. "I'm...fine."

"You don't look fine. Are you having a panic attack? Because if you are, could you wait until Boss gets back? He'll be able to make it better I'm sure. If not, then Pakkun can. He makes everything better. He has these really soft paws you know. They can make anyone feel better just by touching them," Bisuke rambled at her. Suzue focused on his voice as she took deep breaths to try and settle the nauseousness in her stomach. She hated throwing up.

"...I'm fine," Suzue repeated about a minute later as she peeked open her eyes. The world was no longer spinning which was a good thing. "It was...I just forgot to adjust for the change of being on moving water and then on steady land."

"...And I'm a cat," Bisuke deadpanned. Suzue couldn't stop the giggle that escaped at his words. "You're not fine, but that's alright if you can at least keep it together until Boss comes back. He'll be better to help you than me...and he can summon Pakkun so you can touch his paws."

"Are they really that soft?" Suzue couldn't help but ask.

"Yep, the softest paws you'll ever feel."

Suzue nodded in acknowledgment and for the next few minutes, they sat in silence. Bisuke pressed himself up against her side. Suzue started putting his fur as she tried to get her thoughts back into some sort of order. They felt like they were all over the place. And there was this weird empty feeling inside her. She wasn't going to touch it, think about it. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Instead, Suzue focused on the fact that if the samurai attacked here then Zabuza and Haku were more than likely attacking the bridge. The question was, did she go to the bridge and try to help? Would she even be helpful? In the story, they were able to defeat them. By the skin of their teeth, but they still won. Having Naruto at the bridge to begin with shouldn't change things that much...Right?

But...not everything had been going as she thought they would base on a story she had read. Naruto and Sasuke were both willing to run away from that first fight with Zabuza and Suzue still didn't know why. And Zabuza and Haku now apparently attacked a day later than she thought they would. So how much did she now trust this story? Could she even still rely on it for anything?

What would she do if she didn't have knowledge of the Story? Suzue pondered over that question and came to the uncomfortable conclusion that she would stay at the house guarding it. Because that was what Kakashi trusted her to do. But the thought of just staying here, waiting for them to come back, doing nothing while they were fighting...

...And she could still feel the swords.

"Pup? What's wrong?" Bisuke asked and Suzue realized that her breathing rate had increased at her thoughts. Her heart rate as well. She was hyper aware of just how loud her heart beat was, of the blood it was pumping through her, keeping her alive. It's beat was pounding in her ear...

"I...if they sent people to attack here, do you think they're attacking the bridge as well?" Suzue asked because she couldn't just take off.

"Possibly..." Bisuke answered slowly. "Boss mentioned that two ninja might attack. If they sent the samurai here to kidnap the pack we're guarding, then I wouldn't be surprised to learn they sent the stronger ones to attack as well. But you're in no condition to fight."

"I...I'm well enough," Suzue got out staring just ahead of her. Bisuke gave a disbelieving huff that caused the girl to add on. "I can't stay here. I...I can't just...I can't just sit here and wait for them."

"Okay," Bisuke sighed after several moments. "I can get that. Get up and walk to the house. If you can do that and talk to Tsunami without losing it, I'll let you go off and check up on the others. If there were sending samurai here then they probably don't have any other ninja. I can guard the house by myself."

"How would you take care of the bodies if you're attacked?" Suzue asked because she doubted he would keep anyone who attacked alive.

"Make a pile for Boss to deal with when he comes back," Bisuke answered like it was obvious. Suzue blinked.

"Couldn't...we have done that?" Suzue asked making the dog give her a confused look. "Have left the bodies for Kakashi-sensei to deal with?"

"Doesn't it bother you humans to leave your dead out in the open like that, though? You don't leave corpses out to show your territory and how strong you are," Bisuke said with a scratch at his ears.

"I guess..." Suzue muttered. In the end, she still would have had to kill the two men. Bisuke's statement, though, reminded her that even though they were talking Bisuke was a dog, not a human. As such he didn't think like a human but thought as a dog.

"Now you're just stalling," Bisuke huffed as she pondered her latest thoughts. Suzue flushed because that hadn't been what she was doing.

"Kay, I'll get going," Suzue agreed. She took a deep breath and stood up. The world didn't swim so she exhaled and started walking to the house. Bisuke trailed after her.

"Tsunami," Suzue called once she was outside the room the older woman was cleaning.

"Suzue-chan...is something wrong?" Tsunami asked as she paused what she was doing and turned to look at the girl. She frowned at Suzue as she took a good look at her. "Are you feeling sick?"

Suzue made her lips turn upwards with a smile. It was easy, "I'm fine but something came up so, I'm going to the bridge to check on them. Bisuke-kun is staying behind to keep and keeping an eye on things here."

"Alright," Tsunami nodded, still frowning at the younger girl. Suzue kept the smile on her face because smiles meant nothing was wrong and no one should worry. "Do you need anything before you go?"

"Nope! I'm fine, I'm not sure if I'll be back early or with everyone else," Suzue added.

"Okay, be safe at least then," Tsunami said. Suzue nodded and turned to start back down the stairs before another voice spoke up.

"Why? Why are you going to help them? You're just going to die too."

"Inari! Just leave her alone alright?" Tsunami snapped at her son who was standing in the doorway to his room. "I'm sorry Suzue-chan. You should just go..."

"Everyone dies, but few get to choose how or why or even when" Suzue murmured.

"What?" Inari blinked in confusion.

"Everyone dies," Suzue repeated louder. "Telling us that we'll die...it's just stating a fact. We're all humans and humans are all doomed to die."

"Well, you're going to die now!" Inari snapped. "None of you will beat Gatou!"

"...I'm sorry that you had to watch your father die," Suzue said.

"What? ...What would you know?! I bet you have one happy family at home and-"

"My mother died fighting a giant fox demon when I was six months old," Suzue finally snapped. "I never knew her. I was then sent to my father who hadn't even known I existed until then and raised by him and his wife until he disappeared when I was four. My step mother kept me around because there was nowhere else to send me to until I was eight and could move out on my own. So you're right, why would I know what it's like for you. At least you had a happy family."

"Suzue-chan," Tsunami whispered into the silence. Suzue felt her face flush as she realized she had lost her temper.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," Suzue said as she bowed to the two. The lavender-haired girl turned and took a step down the stairs before pausing and adding, "We do have one thing in common, though. My mother and your father both died as heroes, fighting to protect what was most precious to them. Unfortunately, life isn't a story where everyone lives happily ever after, so sometimes...the hero dies."

"I..." Inari started.

"But another thing about life is that even when one hero dies, another can come and take their place. Life isn't a story that just ends once the monster's gone. It is a story where you choose when it ends. You can let the monster win or… you keep trying for that happy ending until you get it," Suzue offered before going downstairs.

"Well, you lost it but not the way I thought you would," Bisuke informed her once she reached the living room. "So I guess I still let you go."

"Thanks," Suzue said before slipping on her sandals and heading out the door.

* * *

It was rather obvious that something was going on at the end of the bridge once Suzue got into view. The heavy fog that hung at the end of the bridge and trailed down to the ocean was a dead give away about that. Suzue paused several meters outside it to see if she could figure out what was going on. Tazuna was easy to find based off the metal tools he wore to work at his belt. Zabuza was the next easiest to find because of his huge sword. Based off that she guess that the metal that was moving around him would be Kakashi. The hitai-ate that she picked up on seemed to be the right height to be Kakashi too even though it wasn't slanted. The two boys on her team were somewhat harder and she wasn't even sure she was picking up Haku at all.

To deduce what she was picking up on her metal senses, she would say that her teammates were fighting Haku in his ice mirror prison jutsu. And the flashes of metal she would pick up on followed by yelps and grunts of pain would be Haku attacking from his mirrors. No one seemed to be guarding Tazuna but Suzue was sure Naruto would have at least created a handful of clones to guard the bridge builder before joining Sasuke in the fight.

Suzue hesitated outside the mist to see if she could figure out anything else and blinked in surprise when she picked out what she guessed was a boat heading this way. Turning her head in the direction she could barely spot a boat that was coming from Wave Country. Frowning, Suzue wondered if that was Gatou coming to double-cross Zabuza. Her teeth found her bottom lip as she debated what to do. Go help her teammates or see if that was Gatou and his men.

A curse and a yell of pain had Suzue's head turning back to the mist she couldn't see through. And she made her decision.

Pulling a spoil of ninja wire from her hip pouch, Suzue tied the end of the wire to a kunai and doubled check that she knew where everyone was. She had no idea if this would even work but it was the best she could come up with that didn't involve charging straight in. Inhaling then exhaling, Suzue threw the kunai and Pushed on it. Then came the tricky part.

Suzue hadn't used ninja wire much before being placed on Team Seven. She had mostly used the stuff in traps and that was it. Sasuke had come up with the idea of her learning to fight with it because ninja wire was made out of metal. He had been taught to fight with ninja wire when he was a kid and had kept up with using it...mostly. Naruto's clones had ended up being their test dummy when trying different moves out and Suzue was now sure that Naruto was the leading expert on dodging ninja wire.

The biggest problem with ninja wire they had found out was the fact that it was very thin. Suzue was used to Pushing and Pulling on things with more mass than ninja wire. They had solved that mostly by attaching a kunai or shuriken to the end of one and Pushing or Pulling on that. The other problem was that she could only Push away from her or Pull towards herself. It left her limited in what she could do with the ninja wire. They worked with what they had though and mostly Suzue would just have to move around the battlefield to get the results she wanted.

But they did come up with a way for her to stand in mostly one spot and get the ninja wire to 'move' around without her moving. It wasn't ideal for actual battles yet. It took too much focus on doing for her to be able to do it while also being attacked. But no one in this battle knew she was joining in yet, so she could afford the effort of doing this. With a series of small and big Pushes and Pulls, she could get ninja wire to wrap around something without having to move from her spot. Which is what she was planning on doing.

Though she couldn't see through the mist, the metals let her have a general idea of where everyone was and the Story gave her a bit of knowledge in what she was up against. Suzue's plan was to wrap ninja wire around the 'base' mirrors of Haku's mirror dome and Pull on the ninja wire as hard as she could putting pressure on the mirrors. She had no idea if it would even do anything as the mirrors weren't just ice but chakra enforced ice. It was being pitted against her chakra enforced metal and she had no idea who would come out on top.

With a Push and a Pull followed by a jerk of her arm to adjust the wire, Suzue got the Kunai to go around the wire making a loop. She then Pulled. The ninja wire went taunt almost immediately letting Suzue know that she actually wrap the ninja wire around the ice mirrors. Adjusting her stance, Suzue then stuck herself to the ground with chakra to stay in one spot and added her own muscle strength to the Pull on the wire. There was a cracking sound and Suzue had to adjust her grip on the wire. She continued to Pull.

Her only warning was a sudden drop of temperature right behind her. Before Suzue could even fully register that what she was feeling, her body was already ducking down to roll away from the sudden cold spot. There was a soft whoosh of air above her head as she scrambled away, dropping the ninja wire as she spun back to face her opponent.

Haku was there, half in an ice mirror, half out. He still had his Hunter-nin mask on and Suzue was mildly creeped out by how it just stared at her.

"So, you have joined the fight," Haku stated after a few moments. "You seem to have a kekkei genkai, like me."

"Kinzoku Idōnin," Suzue offered.

"You managed to crack my mirrors with it," the boy continued. Suzue didn't say anything, not even sure where Haku was even going with this. "But that was from outside. I studied how it worked during the battle with Zabuza-sama. But I get the feeling that I've barely scratched the surface on what you can do, though."

"...Is that so?" Suzue asked not sure what else to say but feeling awkward because Haku seemed to expect her to say something.

"Yes," Haku nodded. "So shall we see who has the better kekkei genkai? Your metal against my ice?"

Suzue drew out a kunai to help deflect the senbon Haku shot at her. They made a dull thump instead of a chiming clank noise and Suzue realized that they were wooden. With her free hand, she grabbed a handful of shuriken and threw them at the ice mirror in front of her, giving them a Push. Haku disappeared from the mirror as the shuriken impeded themselves into the ice.

The temperature dropped again and Suzue was spinning, the kunai held out to attack. Haku caught her thrust with one hand as he grabbed the back of her dress with the other. The girl hissed as he inadvertently pulled her hair as he started pulling her towards him. She Pushed on the kunai in her hand and it slammed into the mirror, cracking it just as he pulled her into the mirror.

Panic set in. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move. It was so cold. There was no metal. Then she was falling and hit the ground hard. Still panicked, Suzue Pushed on all the metal she could now feel around her. It leaped to obey and shot away from her.

"Suzue!"

Gasping in a breath as she realized she could breathe and move again, Suzue realized the voice had been Sasuke with his 'You're-doing-something-stupid-stop' tone. Suzue blinked and finally realized where she was. Haku had dumped her in his ice mirror dome. She turned and saw her teammates staring at her. Sasuke looked really annoyed but Naruto looked pleasantly surprised and was smiling at her. Then she noticed just why Sasuke was annoyed with her. Pushing on all the metal around her had also Pushed on the metal the boys carried around. Sasuke was having to readjust his hitai-ate.

"Man, that was weird," Naruto drawled as he patted himself down and readjusted his own things. "Suzue-chan, your kekkei thingy is cool and all but we kinda need our weapons too."

"Sorry," Suzue mumbled, flushing as she stood up. "I was panicking."

"You okay now?" Sasuke demanded, flicking his eyes towards her before going back to the mirrors. Suzue blinked in surprise to see that he had awakened the Sharingan if the red coloring of his eyes she saw was any interaction.

"Fine," Suzue answered as she started eyeing the mirrors herself. Apparently, she had done some damage to the mirrors with her panic attack. Several of the ice mirrors had weapons impeded into them with cracks.

"Um, guys," Naruto started as he backed up towards them. "I think the damage Suzue-chan did is healing itself."

"You would be correct," Haku confirmed as he flickered into existence in the mirrors. "You may be able to crack the mirrors but you can't break them."

"She totally almost did with just ninja wire!" Naruto defended. "We'll get out of here and beat you up!"

"Can you break the mirrors?" Sasuke asked her while Naruto shouted at Haku.

"...Don't know," Suzue forced herself to admit. "I wasn't even sure the ninja wire would do even do anything."

"Naruto's right, you nearly broke them," Sasuke informed her as he brought up the kunai he was holding. "Think you can do that from inside?"

"We'll find out I guess," Suzue replied as she drew several shuriken.

"As fun as it has been," Haku was saying, drawing Sasuke's and Suzue's attention to him. "I'm afraid it has come time to end this."

"Above!" Sasuke shouted and Suzue Pushed up to deflect anything metal as she turned to face upwards throwing a handful of shuriken.

Haku was moving too fast for her to actually see but her uncle had trained her in reacting to anything coming at her. Especially if it was metal. And though Haku was now using wooden senbon, he was wearing metal.

Sasuke had grabbed Naruto, spinning the two of them out of the way. Suzue moved with them so that the three of them could still keep their backs to each other. The girl used her empty hand to grab at what was heading towards her and blinked in surprised when Haku materialized in front of her holding the other half of the wooden senbon she had just grabbed.

"Seems like my job just got much harder," Haku noted before jumping back into one of his mirrors.

"Suzue?" Sasuke questioned, his eyes wide and watching everything.

"Fine," Suzue told him as she readjusted her grip on the wooden senbon she had just gotten from Haku so she could throw it. Haku attacked again and it resulted in the same results. Suzue frowned. They could just keep doing this over and over again.

"Hey, you still have a spoil of ninja wire?" Sasuke asked between breaths only to have Haku attack before Suzue could even answer.

"Yes," Suzue answered as she swiped at where Haku was a moment ago. He was now back in the mirrors.

"Hand it over to Naruto!" Sasuke ordered as he pulled Naruto out of the line of fire again as Suzue tossed another shuriken at Haku. She missed as was becoming the norm and it embedded into a mirror.

"What am I supposed to do with it?!" Naruto demanded before Sasuke maneuvered him again. Suzue was forced to catch Sasuke as he over corrected for the two of them and nearly landed on his butt instead of attacking Haku.

"What Suzue did earlier," Sasuke shouted at him as all three of them were forced to scatter from Haku's latest attack. "I'm sure you can come up with a way!"

"Um...crap!" Naruto started only to curse as he barely dodged Haku's attack. "Got it!"

The ice mirror dome was suddenly filled with Naruto's and Suzue felt claustrophobic for all of half a second before Haku managed to pop all of them. Suzue hissed as he also took the opportunity to attack her. Senbon were sticking out of her leg making it go numb and collapse under her.

"Suzue-chan!" Naruto called out with a wild grin before tossing the spoil of ninja wire to her. Suzue grabbed the spoil with chakra and Pulled it towards her just as Sasuke gave a shout of warning...to Naruto.

Everything seemed to slow down, Suzue turned her attention from the spoil to Naruto. She sensed Haku's hitai-ate from under his mask flash from a mirror. Sasuke was running, but it seemed so slow. Haku even seemed to be going slower than he had been. Naruto was still smiling but it was slowly turning into a look of surprise. As the spoil landed in the hand she had reached out to grab it with, senbon sprouted from Naruto's neck.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed as Suzue grab the actual ninja wire and Pulled.

Naruto blinked then let out a cough that had blood spraying from his mouth. He fell to his knees. Suzue saw his lips move but she couldn't hear him. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ear; it was the only thing she could hear. Then Sasuke was there shouting at the blond, holding him. Suzue...Suzue wasn't sure she was even seeing things correctly. Naruto couldn't be...he couldn't be.

Suzue dropped the remaining weapons she was holding to grip the ninja wire with both hands. Then she channeled chakra into her arms and Pulled. Naruto had done his job. Under the cover of the clones, he had looped the wire around as many mirrors possible so that when she Pulled, it tighten on the ice mirrors. With how much chakra she was channeling it only took one sharp Pull back with the strength of her enhanced arms behind it to shatter all the mirrors Naruto had gotten. She didn't know why but the shattering of those mirrors caused the rest to of the mirrors to shatter forcing Haku to tumble out of the one he was in.

"That was...truly impressive. I did not think you would be able to do that with how long it took for your last attempt took to even crack the mirrors," Haku noted as he steadied himself.

"Guess I win," Suzue threw out only to make a nearly soundless noise of pain when she tried to move her arms to pick up her weapons. She looked at her arms but nothing had changed about them. There was nothing to show for what was causing the pain.

"But it seems that you overextended yourself in order to do so," Haku said. Suzue looked back up at him as it dawned on what she had just done to herself.

There was a reason why, even with the ability to enhance one's body with chakra, every ninja didn't have Tsunade's super strength. There was a point when the chakra couldn't protect against the damage one would do to themselves from that level of enhancement. At least not unless you had scary levels of chakra control. Suzue didn't have that level of chakra control. Combine that with the fact that she was very aware of just how to enhance her body with chakra lead to it being very easy for her to do this type of damage to her body. Her arms were now totally useless until they healed.

"I suppose I will take care of you next then," Haku informed her as he took a step towards her.

"No!" Sasuke snapped as he stabbed at Haku from behind. That shout was enough warning for the other boy to spin and block the attack if somewhat awkwardly.

Suzue wasn't sure if Haku had just forgotten or never realized the fact that she didn't need her hands to use her kekkei genkai. She also didn't know if Sasuke had intentionally positioned the kunai so that she could Pull on it and do damage to Haku. Either way, she took the opportunity to Pull on the kunai. Haku let out a startled yelp as the kunai went straight through his arm, breaking it. He broke away from Sasuke, putting as much distance as he could between them.

Before Sasuke could think to go after the older boy, Suzue was Pulling on a lot of metal that felt like weapons that Haku had just put his back to. As she Pulled, she had the thought that all those weapons were supposed to be important or something, but she couldn't remember. The girl nearly lost the connection to the metal she was Pulling on as loud curses and 'what the hell?' sounded from the end of the bridge.

The voices alerted Haku to something behind him so that he didn't end up skewed with a bunch of metal, easily deflecting them with only one hand. What the voices didn't do was distract Sasuke from trying his best to murder Haku. The dark-haired boy attacked the other with such viciousness that Suzue was pretty sure the only other person Sasuke would attack in such a manner would be Itachi. He didn't let up at all and Suzue wasn't sure she could attack Haku again without the risk of hurting Sasuke in the process. Not that she was sure Sasuke would care at this point as long as it led to Haku's death.

"Sasuke! Stand down," Kakashi was ordering. Sasuke wasn't listening. Then Kakashi was behind Sasuke, pulling him away from Haku, and keeping him from attacking. "I said, stand down!"

"He killed Naruto! I'll kill him!" Sasuke howled, struggling to get out of Kakashi grip and attack Haku again.

"If you don't stand down, I will knock you out," Kakashi informed Sasuke making the boy stop his struggles but he was still glaring at Haku.

"Haku get over here," Zabuza's low voice called out. "It seems we have some unexpected guest."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku acknowledged as he flickered over to the larger Kiri-nin. He was cradling the arm Suzue had broken against his chest.

The lavender-haired girl let her eyes drift from Zabuza and Haku to where she had been picking up a large amount of metal. The mist was clearing at a rapid pace and it reveals a large mob of thugs. At their head was a short man dressed in a business suit smirking at all of them. He tapped his cane twice before speaking.

"Well, I was hoping that the two of you would beat each other up more before making an appearance. But I guess this will do."

"Gatou," Zabuza growled. "What are you doing here? And why did you bring all of them?"

"A change of plans," Gatou chuckled. "Well, more a change of your plans as this was what I was planning all along. You're going to die 'demon', here and now?"

"What?" Zabuza asked sounding more annoyed than surprised.

"You must have guessed," Gatou taunted. "I never intended to pay you. It's always such a bother to hire skilled ninja from one of the top villages. Not to mention expensive...And they tend to have friends who object when I kill them. But you missing-nin...No one cares what I do to your kind once the job is done. All I have to do is wait for you ninja to fight each other until you're too worn down that even common thugs can finish you off. It's a great business plan. Efficient and inexpensive. Though, I admit, there was one flaw in this plan. It was hiring the Demon of Kirigakure. Such false advertising. You're more like a baby demon than an actual demon."

"Yeah! We'll be able to take you down, no problem!" the mob crowded at Zabuza.

"Forgive me Kakashi," Zabuza sighed as he turned to fully faced the mob. "Our fight is over. I no longer have any reason to want to assassinate Tazuna, which settles our differences."

"Yeah," Kakashi also sighed with a glance from Zabuza to the group at the end of the bridge. "You're right."

"What do you mean it's over?!" Sasuke snarled as he tried to throw Kakashi's grip off. "He killed Naruto! I won't let him get away that!"

"I deeply apologize for the pain I caused you," Haku offered with a slight bow. "But as Zabuza-sama said, our fight is now over."

"Such pretty words," Gatou huffed, smirk still in place. "I owe you for breaking my arm. Though it seems like someone repaid that already."

There was a senbon in front of Suzue. A metal one. It was overcast so it didn't glint in the light but Suzue was still eyeing it. That senbon had a clear path to Gatou. It would be very easy to just Push on it and send it to the short business man.

Suzue found herself looking away from the mob to Naruto who was lying too still. The blond was always so full of energy. Even when sleeping, moving around and taking up his space and half of whoever was sleeping next to him. The Story had Sasuke taking the hit and being put into a death-like state. But here and now...Naruto had been too far away for Sasuke to step in. The weapons used had been wooden so Suzue couldn't stop them. And this was real life...she had no idea if Haku would really pull his attacks.

But, Shinobi were just tools. Weapons to be wielded by others. It was something that was taught in the Academy, though those exact words were never used. So in a way, Haku wasn't even the one at fault. Gatou was.

The lavender-haired girl was still staring at Naruto when she Pushed on the senbon. She didn't see the senbon hit, pushing through Gatou's sunglasses into his eye and entering his brain. Didn't see him drop to the ground, dead before he was even aware of it.

There was silence as everyone took in the fact that Gatou was now dead.

"Suzue," Kakashi called after a moment and was sudden next to her dumping Sasuke by her side.

"He's the reason Naruto's..." Suzue trailed off, not even able to say he was dead. Though, there was the chance he wasn't. "And if Gatou's dead then Tazuna's safe."

"Sasuke watch over Suzue. That's an order."

The boy growled at the order but after shooting a glare back at Haku he settled next to Suzue. His hand latched onto the sleeve of her dress.

"Ha, I really didn't think any of your brats had it in them," Zabuza huffed.

"They're certainly full of surprises," Kakashi shrugged back.

"Hey, I don't know what you did, but you just killed our meal ticket!" one of the thugs shouted.

"We'll kill you for that!" another shouted.

"Yeah and pillage this place!"

"Take everything of value!"

Suzue turned away from staring at Naruto to the mob that was now charging at them. Eyes widening at being charged and not having the ability to flee, Suzue Pushed on all the metal they were carrying. She had to channel chakra into her legs to stick herself to the ground so she didn't slide backward.

Chaos descended onto the mob. Injuries abound and several of the weapons they were carrying killed someone else. Many lost their grip on said weapons and they went flying out over the water. Suzue switched from Pushing on them to Pulling and they came flying back to the mob. There were screams as even more of the men died.

"Suzue, that's enough," Kakashi informed her before she could Push the metal back through the remaining men of the mob still standing. She dropped the metal and it clattered to the bridge. She watched as the men who were still able to move scrambled off the bridge into the boat.

"They're gone!" Sasuke growled standing up. He froze when Suzue hissed in pain as he hadn't let go of her sleeve thus moving her arm.

"Looks like they took the opportunity of Suzue taking care of the mob to get out of here," Kakashi mused as he pulled his hitai-ate down over his Sharingan eye. "Let it go Sasuke."

"But...Naruto," Sasuke nearly whined turning to look at the blond. "Suzue?"

"...They just left my range," Suzue answered his unasked question, then she looked up at her sensei. "Can you move me next to Naruto?"

"Sure, then I think we need to take care of your injuries," Kakashi agreed as he bent down to pick her up. "Tazuna-san are you alright?"

"Better than it seems you lot are," Tazuna answered as he slowly made his way over to where Naruto was laying. "The kid..."

No one said anything. Suzue wasn't sure there was anything to say. No one wanted Naruto to be dead.

Kakashi set her back on the ground next to Naruto and started removing the senbon that Suzue had stuck in her. "Sasuke, you should start removing the senbon in you too. Be careful of the wooden ones. Suzue do you know what you did to your arms?"

"...Tore all the muscles in them...maybe in my hand too? I'm not sure," Suzue answered as Kakashi pushed back her sleeve to look at them. She winced as he poked at them.

"Well, we'll need a doctor to take a look. I'm not sure how badly you tore them," Kakashi informed her. "Now your leg..."

Naruto was groaning.

Everyone turned to look at the blond who was supposed to be dead. His eyes were squished shut and he was making a sort of whining noise. Then his eyes flickered over and he looked at them. His lips stretched into a grin as he looked at them.

"Hey, did we win?"

"Dobe," Sasuke choked out, his voice full of emotions.

"Yeah," Suzue laughed as she felt tears start sliding down her cheeks. "Yeah, Naruto, we won."

* * *

Author Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again sorry about the late update. I had forgotten how much I hated writing feels...Anyways, next update I'm going to say will be at the end of the month, Octo 30th/31st. The new cover for the story was done by TricksterThief who also did my profile picture. Also, I'm on tumblr under lady-hachimitsu. I'll be posting when updates happen and you are welcome send me questions and the like about the story. Or just bother me if I'm late for an update again...  
Thank you everyone who's reviewed, favorited, or followed! You all make my day!


	5. Chapter 5 - Coming Home

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto...

Warnings: Anxiety, panic attacks, typical Naruto violence, mental trauma, death, killing in cold-blood, aftermath

Chapter: Five - Coming Home

* * *

Kakashi had pulled Suzue aside that first day after the bridge battle to talk to her about her kills. The lavender-haired girl had no idea how the psychology for having killed actually worked. So she didn't know if Kakashi was doing it correctly or not. Even her past life was no help in this area. Mostly his talk consisted of basically justifying her acts of killing the people she did and how it didn't make her evil.

It wasn't until Kakashi had been sprouting all this that Suzue realized that at some point in her life she had already accepted all these justifications as reasons it was okay to kill people. They were the enemy. They would have hurt her and the people she was protecting. It was the only option she had available to her at the time. She had heard all these before in the Academy and sort of in her past life. Though in that life, it had been more for stories, books, and movies.

He didn't draw attention to the fact that what she had done to the mob was overkill. Which Suzue didn't know how she felt about that. In a way, it didn't feel like she had been the one to do it. That she hadn't killed all those people. She hadn't been watching, hadn't seen them all cut-down, massacred. Just the aftermath, at a distance even, as Kakashi had been the one to deal with all of them. Finishing off those that weren't dead yet but wouldn't survive. And organizing having the bodies removed from the bridge.

Naruto seemed to have just as hard a time wrapping his brain around the idea that his female teammate had been the one to kill all those people. Suzue hadn't been able to tell what Sasuke thought about it but he hadn't really changed his behavior around her expect to become a bit more clingy it seemed.

Kakashi seemed more concerned by her lack of reaction to her kills then the fact that she had killed. Especially since her first three kills were considered 'cold' kills. Done outside the heat of battle.

"Well, it's possible that it hasn't sunk in yet, what you've done," Kakashi sighed running a hand through his hair. "That sometimes happens. So don't be too surprised if you wake up screaming in the middle of the night from a nightmare or something."

Suzue made a face at that statement. She did not like the idea of waking up screaming. And she wasn't even sure she would since she had never woken up screaming from a nightmare. While hadn't since she was a baby the second time around and her death played like a broken record in all her dreams.

"Or you could have a panic attack when something triggers you to make the connections," Kakashi added on when he saw her expression. That sounded more likely to happen though Suzue didn't like it any better than waking up screaming.

"Suzue," Kakashi said drawing her attention back to him. "Unless you're an emotionless, this will affect you. It affects everyone. In different ways, but it does. You need to find a way to accept and come to terms with it. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Suzue acknowledged as she tried to figure out what an emotionless was.

"...Well, if you feel you need to talk about it, you can come to me," Kakashi offered though Suzue got the feeling that he would rather she didn't. "Or if you have someone back in the village you could talk to, talk to them. Don't try to internalize this."

"...I can talk to my brother," Suzue admitted. Then asked before she lost her nerve, "What's an emotionless?"

"Someone who doesn't feel emotions," Kakashi deadpanned which made Suzue flush and glare at him. "They don't tend to feel regret for doing wrong and don't understand most emotions if any. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, thank you," Suzue accepted as she connected the term emotionless to psychopath or sociopath. She always got those terms mixed up. Because she hadn't known much about psychology from her last life, Suzue felt she couldn't really compare how psychology was understood in her last life to how it was understood in this life. She was pretty sure there was a difference as at some point during the Academy she had realized that some things she had taken for granted understanding, people here didn't seem to know or understand. And what little she had dug up seemed to point that psychology here had taken a different turn than it had in her past life as it seemed more focused in how to break people than fix them.

"Any more questions?" Kakashi asked after letting her process the information. Suzue shook her head. "Alright then, remember to take care of yourself and I'm here to talk to if you can't wait to see your brother."

"Okay," Suzue acknowledged as he patted her hair.

"Let's go back inside then and get your arms iced," Kakashi suggested as she started heading back to the house. Suzue glanced out over the ocean and lingered over a certain spot for a moment before turning and following Kakashi.

The two swords at the bottom of the ocean she could still sense from Tazuna's house were something she was ignoring.

* * *

Everything seemed far away. The sound of a gun. The pain that now bloomed in her chest. Her sister's panicked face above her. But the blood filling her lungs making her cough and choke was very close. It seemed to fill her whole world. She would be fine if she could just breath again. If she could just inhale air and not have it blocked by blood.

She could feel the blood on her lips from her efforts of trying to cough it out. Could taste it on her tongue as it lingered in her mouth. It coated her throat blocking everything from passing.

"Dobe! Get off of Suzue."

Suzue blinked awake to see a dark ceiling above her instead of blue sky and her sister staring, wide eyes at her. She then realized that the reason she was having problems breathing was because Naruto had once again moved in his sleep resulting in one of his arms to be thrown over her throat. Sasuke had taken the arm off and thrown back at its own who just made a mutter that sounded like 'Ramen' and shifted again into an even more awkward position.

"You alright?" Sasuke asked her after one last glare at Naruto.

"Fine," Suzue answered which earned her a grunt of acknowledgment before the teen flopped back down on his bedroll next to her to go back asleep.

"Nightmare?" Kakashi's voice called over from where he was sitting on guard duty.

"Guess so," Suzue muttered as she closed her eyes wishing she could roll onto her side to sleep. Unfortunately, the damage she had done to her arms meant that she had to sleep on her back with her arms bound to her chest as she slept.

"Do you need to talk about it?"

"No," Suzue answered her eyes opening again. After all, what was suppose to say, I remember my death having killed those people made it come back. The girl frowned at that thought.

"...Remember you can talk to me about it if you need to," Kakashi reminded her as he turned back to doing maintenance on his weapons.

"It's not about having killed," Suzue felt the need to inform him. She felt Sasuke eyes on her at that answer.

"Oh?" Kakashi prompted when she didn't continue.

"It was...about something else," Suzue muttered closing her eyes. She really wished she could roll over onto her side.

"The offer still stands," was all Kakashi said as he took the cue to drop it.

Suzue felt a slight tug on her night shirt and she opened her eyes to look over at Sasuke. He had his head turned away from her but she could see his arms extending towards her instead of tucked up next to his side. Her lips turned up faintly and she closed her eyes again having gotten Sasuke's message. He was there for her too if she needed it.

* * *

By the end of the first day with her injury, Suzue had been more than ready to be healed. By the end of the week, Suzue was more than annoyed by her injury and was vowing to never ever do something like that again unless there was a readily available medic nin who could heal the damage as soon as it was done. Even reading the more 'kid' friendly books Tsunami had was getting boring. At least she had healed enough that she could turn the pages of the book on her own now.

It was also kind of annoying that all the books Tsunami had were romance novels. Tame romance novels with nothing more than a heavy makeout session in them because they were 'kid' friendly but they all seemed to have the same theme running through them. Which got boring after the third time of reading variations of the same plot with the same character models. Maybe that was the key to the Icha Icha series success; it actually had different plots and characters in each book.

Suzue really wished Kakashi had brought the book with him so she could swipe it from him. Maybe he did bring it and kept in his flask jacket? She would have to get the boys on board to find out. One to distract him in the baths and the other to go through his vest.

"We're back!" Naruto called out into the house as he, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Tazuna walked in.

"Welcome back," Tsunami greeted with a smile. "Go clean up a bit and dinner should be done by then!"

"It smells delicious!" Tazuna praised as he set toed off his shoes.

"Neh, Suzue-chan how was your day?" Naruto grinned as he sat down next to her.

"Shouldn't you be getting cleaned up?" Suzue asked as she looked at the blond before adding on, "And my day was fine, thank you."

"Hehe, I guess," Naruto chuckled as he scratched his cheek. "But it's important to check up on you too! Are your arms doing better?"

"They're pretty much the same," Suzue sighed. "They won't be healed until we get back to the village."

"...Does it usually take this long to heal? I mean it doesn't look like anything is wrong with them," Naruto complained as he peered at the bandages on her arms.

"That's because all the damage was done inside not on the surface," Kakashi explained once again to Naruto who didn't have instant healing but healed a lot faster than anyone else in their team. He had recovered from his brush with death in just a few days while Sasuke was still dealing with is senbon wounds from the fight. Sasuke seemed mildly jealous of Naruto in that regard which Suzue found somewhat cute. Especially since he was totally denying it.

"Yeah, but still..." Naruto protested.

"Go clean up, Naruto-kun," Kakashi sighed deciding it wasn't worth the effort of trying to get the boy to understand.

"Come on Dobe," Sasuke huffed as he left the room.

"Don't call me that Teme!" Naruto shouted after the other boy as he followed.

"You are doing well? Nothing seems to be wrong?" Kakashi asked once the boys were gone.

"I'm fine," Suzue repeated. "My arms are the same, Tsunami made sure I've been doing the exercises the doctor recommended, and I'm just mildly bored with just sitting here."

"Hmm, well, at least you're not completely hopeless," Kakashi eye-smiled at her. Suzue gave him a confused look as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. It just made him smile even more.

"Suzue-chan, do you need help getting to the table?" Tsunami asked as she entered the room.

"No, I got it," Suzue answered as she closed the book and pushed it off her lap with small movements. After a week of not being able to move her arms like a normal person, she had gotten pretty good at being able to stand up without using her arms to balance. Kakashi pretended he wasn't hovering as she stood. And she shot him a look that said she knew what he was doing, before making her way to the table. Kakashi was there before her pulling out a chair for her and pushing it back in after she sat down in it. She made a face at the table for the act but didn't say anything about it.

A small noise made Suzue look up to see Inari standing by the table his face turning red as he stared at her. She blinked at him and he turned away not looking at her. But every few seconds he would peek at her as he set the table only to see her still looking at him causing him to turn away from her again. He had started doing this shortly after he had learned that she had been the one to kill Gatou.

Naruto had told him the whole story about what happened on the bridge to the kid after he gotten what had happened on the bridge after he was knocked out from her and Sasuke. The blond would actually tell anyone who wanted to hear what had gone down. He was endearing himself greatly to the whole town do this for some reason.

Suzue was beginning to think that the ten-year-old boy had a crush on her for killing Gatou. Which was...weird. It had to be weird. It was weird to have a crush on someone because they killed someone...right? Suzue was pretty sure she was correct in that. If not well, it was weird to have a ten-year-old have a crush on her. Though she was glad his crush was more like Hinata's crush on Naruto than Sasuke's fangirls' crush on him. Even if she did have to deal with him peering at her around corners or stealing glances at when he had to be in the same room as her.

At least she no longer had to deal with his annoying, 'We're all doomed' moods.

"Neh, Suzue-chan," Naruto sang as he entered back into the room with Sasuke. Tazuna followed after them. "Do you need help eating?"

"No, Naruto, I don't need help feeding myself anymore," Suzue answered with a roll of her eyes. She had stopped needing someone to feed her yesterday. And as funny as it was to see Naruto and Sasuke get into a fight over who got to feed her, she was glad they didn't need to do that anymore. It was embarrassing to be feed like a baby. It was also embarrassing to still need Tsunami's help with the bathing and had been greatly embarrassing the first few days when she had needed help just using the toilet. At least she had Tsunami to help with those things instead of having to rely on her teammates for such things. She might have died, again, from the embarrassment of any of them having to help her with that.

"Dobe, how would you feel if you had to be treated like a baby?" Sasuke asked him as he sat down.

"I wouldn't mind if Suzue-chan fed me," Naruto answered before turning to Suzue with a grin. "How about it Suzue-chan? We could totally feed each other."

Suzue blinked at Naruto in sheer disbelieve because he hadn't really suggested that, had he?

"Are you...Why would...What?" Suzue stumbled over as she tried to compute Naruto's suggestion. Did he even realize what he had suggested?

"Are you asking Suzue out, Dobe?" Sasuke asked in a tone that sounded like he really hoped this a dream or that he had heard wrong.

"Well...would you like to go out on a date with me Suzue-chan?" Naruto asked without any shame.

Suzue could feel her whole face burning. It crawled up to the tips of her ears and down her neck to her collarbone. It was becoming difficult to breathe and Suzue realized that she was on the verge of having a panic attack because Naruto was asking her out on a date.

"I...What...I thought you like Sakura-san," Suzue squeaked out as she tried to get her breathing under control and not give in to the stupid urge to cry. She didn't even know why she wanted to cry.

"I do...did?" Naruto answered sounding a little confused. "But Suzue-chan is a lot nicer than Sakura-chan...so I would mind if you were my girlfriend."

And black spots were swimming in her vision. A moment later, Suzue realized that she had stopped breathing and somewhere in the distance she could hear someone, or was it a lot of someones, calling her name.

Suzue blacked out for at least a moment. When she came to her head was in between her knees and someone was rubbing her back. Kakashi was saying something about having expected something like this to happen and Naruto was panicking about having broken his teammate. Suzue then realized that someone was clutching at her outfit. That had to be Sasuke since for some reason he had developed the habit of clutching at her clothing. She was beginning to think it was his version of a hug.

"In and hold...now exhale," Tsunami was saying in her ear and Suzue realized that she was the one rubbing her back. The lavender-haired girl followed the older woman's instructions a few more times before she felt like she could sit up and not pass out again. As she did so, she realized that she had cried at some point too as she could feel the tears on her cheeks. Her cheeks heat up again and Suzue hated the fact that she could even lift her arms enough wipe away the tears.

Tsunami was god sent as she quickly wiped away the tears from her face and asked, "You feeling better now?"

"...Yes," Suzue answered quietly.

"I didn't mean to upset you Suzue-chan! I'm so sorry! You don't need to be my girlfriend if you don't want to be!" Naruto babbled sounding like he himself was on the verge of tears.

"Dobe, just shut up before you make it worst," Sasuke snapped at the other boy.

"I'm trying to apologize, Teme! Just because you don't know what it is," Naruto snapped back.

"Boys," Kakashi said sharply making both of them shut up. Suzue flinched a little at the tone. "Suzue, do you need to lay down or anything?"

"Fine," Suzue muttered then realized that she had spoken too softly and that Tsunami had probably been the only one to hear her. "I'm fine. I should probably eat something, not lay down."

"I am sorry, Suzue-chan," Naruto somberly offered, and boy did he sound like a kicked puppy.

"...I'm not interested in having a boyfriend...or dating," Suzue explained not looking at her blond teammate. "Is it alright if we could just be friends?"

"But wouldn't that make me your boyfriend? I'm a boy and you would be my friend," Naruto questioned sounding confused. And Suzue realized that Naruto didn't understand that you could have a friend that was the opposite gender from you. Exhaustion seemed to seep into her bones at the thought of explaining to Naruto that there was a difference and you could be friends with someone without dating them. She didn't have the energy at the moment to deal with this.

"Dobe, don't you know that you can be friends with girls without them being your girlfriend," Sasuke sneered.

"But that would make them girlfriends! Because they're girls and my friends!" Naruto countered not getting the point.

"Naruto-kun," Tsunami spoke up. "There is a difference between a girl being your girlfriend and a girl who is just your friend. When you have a girl who is your girlfriend you go on dates with them and generally want to kiss them. Whereas a girl who is just your friend you do fun things with like you would with your other friends who are boys. Do you want to kiss Suzue-chan?"

"...Don't know...Maybe," Naruto answered, his face in his thinking way too hard expression.

"I don't want to kiss anyone else," Suzue threw in. "I think it's weird for anyone our age to want to kiss someone."

"Teme's Fan Club wants to kiss him," Naruto pointed out.

"They're weird," Sasuke immediately countered.

"Very weird," Suzue agreed. "They should not be an example to follow. By anyone."

"...Don't you want to kiss anyone, Teme?" Naruto asked with a pout.

"No," Sasuke snorted.

"Not even Suzue-chan?" Naruto pressed for some reason. Suzue blinked, confused.

"...No," Sasuke answered again and Suzue noticed that he had a faint tint of pink on his cheeks. Suzue turned away and decided that she didn't see that because she was sure that Sasuke was supposed to be asexual or something even if he ended up with Sakura at the end of the Story. Sasuke did not have a crush on her. She could accept Naruto confusing wanting to be her friend with having a crush on her because it was Naruto, but Sasuke having a crush on her was just...too weird.

"So...friends?" Suzue asked once the silence became awkward.

"I guess? What do you even do with friends who are girls?" Naruto asked.

"Same thing you do with your guy friends?" Suzue offered even though it came out as more of a question.

"But Kiba said that girls don't like doing the same things as boys," Naruto countered. Suzue suddenly realized why Naruto would have such a confusion about girls being friends. Kiba would say something like that and since, for some reason, their class didn't have any girl who would be considered a tomboy or even a girl who was willing to hang with guys, Naruto had probably never been exposed to a girl-boy friendship. Add in Shikamaru's believe that all girls are troublesome and Chouji's going with whatever Shikamaru said...it was no wonder Naruto was confused by the whole thing. Sasuke's Fan Club making up nearly all the girls in their class didn't help.

"You know what Naruto," Suzue started just done with all this. "I already considered you my friend so we're just going to keep doing the same thing we've been doing. Is that alright with you?"

"Really?" Naruto asked and Suzue nodded. "Alright! That's cool with me!"

And since she was on a roll, Suzue turned to Sasuke and informed him, "I consider you my friend too."

"What?" Sasuke gaped caught off guard.

"Why do you have to be Teme's friend too?" Naruto whined.

"Because I like him too. Just like I like you. So you are both my friends," Suzue informed them. "Can we eat now?"

* * *

A little over two weeks after the bridge battle found Team Seven standing in front of Tazuna's finished bridge with his family before them. Everyone was there to say goodbye to one another and had bittersweet smiles on their faces.

The bridge had been finished a few days ago, but Kakashi wanted to make sure Suzue was healed enough to travel and do all personal things by herself without help. Was very glad that her arms had healed enough that with painkillers she could, in fact, do all personal things by herself now.

"Thank you for everything you did to get this bridge built," Tazuna said. "We're going to miss you guys."

"Thank you for everything as well," Kakashi nodded back.

"Now, now, Old Man, we'll visit you one day!" Naruto grinned.

"You...better..." Inari sniffed. "You too...Su-suzue-chan!"

"Ah...of course," Suzue flushed. "I would like to see Wave when it's prospering like you dreamed of Tazuna-san."

"It'll be beautiful!" Tazuna laughed. "You'll see."

"All of you take care of yourselves," Tsunami smiled at them. "I look forward to seeing you all again too."

"Me as well," Suzue smiled back. "If any of you end up in Konoha again, feel free to look us up. And thank you for everything Tsunami-san."

"Will do," Tazuna agreed.

"And you're welcome Suzue-chan. It's been a pleasure," Tsunami said before giving into an impulse and hugging the lavender-haired girl. Suzue flushed at the hug and sort of wished she could give the older woman a hug back.

It was with teary eyes that Team Seven set out back to Konoha leaving behind a bridge that would end up being named The Great Naruto Bridge. As to why it ended up being named that, Suzue figured it was because Naruto had been the one to spread the story of Gatou's downfall.

* * *

"Alright, Suzue-chan, let's go get your arms healed up before we go report in for the mission," Kakashi announced once they were passed the gate checkpoint back into the village.

"Okay," Suzue agreed following after her sensei. The boys fell in line after Kakashi.

"This isn't the way to the hospital," Sasuke pointed out a few minutes later.

"We're going to see a friend of mine. She's the best medic in the village," Kakashi answered. "And she's on leave from her shinobi duties at the moment."

"Then should we really be bothering her?" Suzue asked with a frown. She really didn't want to be bothering others for her injuries if they were supposed to be on vacation.

"She won't mind," Kakashi waved off. His three genin shared glances with each other but continued to follow the silver-haired man.

They soon came upon a small clan compound with a symbol that looked like a cat's head on the gates. Said gates were wide open and there were sounds of childish screams and laughter echoing from inside. Kakashi walked right in and the three younger ninja followed wearily looking around.

"Oh? Kakashi-sempai?"

Suzue looked up at where the voice had sounded from to see red hair under a hat with cat ears. The lavender-haired girl blinked as she tried to draw her eyes away from the bright red hair and to the kunoichi's face. Smiling brown eyes of a teen who was a couple of years older than them met hers and Suzue felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment at being caught staring.

Kakashi seemed unfazed as he answered the woman. "Hello, Shuu-chan. Is Hachi-chan home?"

"Of course you want to see her and not me," the woman, Shuu-chan?, huffed though a smile grew across her face. "Alright, if you don't want to join me and my awesome team...Hachi-nee is on babysitting duty with her ghost of a husband in the courtyard."

"Thank you," Kakashi nodded. "And I have no desire to join your team's harem."

"Why? It's fun and I'm sure Ibiki won't mind...much."

"Why don't you bother Anko with this?" Kakashi sighed.

"Because she's already a part of it?" Shuu-chan informed him, eyebrow quirked.

"...Bye, see you later, Shuu-chan," Kakashi waved as he started walking away. The red-haired woman let out a howling laugh before disappearing from view into the tree.

Suzue blinked and wondered if that had really happened or if she had just misheard. Because she was pretty sure that Ibiki was that scary dude from T&I that was in charge of the first chunin exam. The idea of him having a harem was...bazaar.

As Kakashi lead them further into the compound and closer to the shrieks of laughter, they were greeted by a shout of, "Natsuki! Get down from that tree and stop encouraging the others to follow you! None of you need to use more chakra for the day!"

"But, Mom," came a whiny reply as they enter the courtyard. There were children everywhere it seemed like, running to and fro. They ranged from what looked to be about two years of age to about six. Suzue easily spotted the whining child as she was indeed in the only tree found in the courtyard. Said child was hanging upside down from a branch...by her feet.

Suzue blinked and yes, the little girl had to be using chakra to stick to the branch like that. She didn't look older than four.

"No buts!" 'Mom' called back. "Get down from there right now or you can go down for your nap early."

"Erg," the little girl groaned with an eye roll, but she dropped to the ground twisting like a cat and landed on her feet.

"Tag! You're it!" another little girl who was probably a year or so older than the other sang as she tagged the other.

"No fair, Asia!" the first girl shouted before giving chase to the other who was laughing madly.

"What brings you here Kakashi-sempai-nii-san? You pass out from chakra exhaustion on a mission again?" the voice of 'Mom' called in their direction making Suzue finally look over in that area.

"Mah, now why would you ask me that?" Kakashi drawled as he headed over to the woman. Said woman was nursing a baby.

"Because that's usually why you end up coming to me," the woman huffed as her eyes shifted from Kakashi to the three of them.

"Neko-sensei!" Naruto suddenly shouted face lighting up. "You're no longer fat! Does that mean you had your kitten?"

"Dobe! She was pregnant, not fat!" Sasuke hissed at the blonde as he elbowed him in the ribs. "You don't call pregnant women fat."

"But she was," Naruto whined back at his teammate, clutching where Sasuke had elbowed him.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun is right. You don't call pregnant women fat. Or any women for that matter. They'll react the same way to you peeping on them," 'Neko-sensei' drawled, a faint smile playing on her lips. Suzue thought she looked a lot like an amused cat. Probably because she was wearing a hat that had cat ears on it just like the other woman, and her other kid who had been in the tree.

"Really?" Naruto asked with a frown. He then shrugged and walked closer to her. "You still had your kitten, right? Can I see it?! You promised!"

"He's right here," Neko-sensei chuckled as she shifted the baby she was still nursing to draw Naruto's attention.

"...That's a baby, not a kitten," Naruto pointed slowly. "Are you trying to prank me?"

"No," the woman laughed. "It's what my clan calls children or those younger than us that we claim as ours. Both you and Sasuke-kun are my kittens as well. I refer to both of you as such among my clan mates. Did you think I would actually give birth to an actual kitten?"

"...No," Naruto muttered as he turned away and his cheeks turned pink.

"Dobe."

"I bet you thought she was going to have a kitten too!" Naruto snapped at the other boy.

"No, I didn't. I'm not you," Sasuke snarled back.

"Boys, let's not start a fight around a baby," Kakashi cut in. Both boys flushed at the reprimand. They glared at each other before turning away from one another.

"So what really brings you here, Kakashi-sempai-nii-san?" the woman asked as the baby started fussing. Suzue felt her cheeks heat up as the woman pulled the baby away from her chest. The lavender-haired girl turned away to give the other woman some privacy as she readjusted her clothing so she wasn't baring herself to the world.

"Suzue-chan here needs her arms healed," Kakashi informed the woman. "And you're the best medic..."

The woman snorted, "I'm the only medic you actually listen to, not the best medic."

"I think you're the only medic any of the elite jounin will listen to," a new male voice offered making Suzue look back over at the woman to see a man in a Noh mask with wiry grayish hair falling over his shoulders. "In a way, that makes you the best medic."

"Only because I actually carry out my threats if they don't listen to what I tell them," the woman huffed. "And did you steal that from Grandmother's store?"

"...Maybe?"

"Make sure you put it back, it's probably for a customer," the woman sighed. "And if you really want one, she'll make you one."

"I'll think about it," the man offered before reaching down and picking up the baby. "I'll go burp him so you can deal with Kakashi and his kittens."

"Thanks."

"Genma," Kakashi suddenly said.

"Wrong again!" the man laughed as he disappeared from view.

"But you're kid is blonde," Kakashi pointed to the woman who was snickering.

"Genma is not actually blond or the secret love child of Jiraiya. Despite what the rumors say," the woman grinned. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not his type."

"Worth a guess," Kakashi sighed. "Now, Hachi-chan, Suzue-chan here tore all the muscles in her arms nearly three weeks ago."

"And how did you manage that?" the woman, Hachi, asked as she turned her attention to Suzue. The girl froze and suddenly couldn't find her voice to answer. Panicked she glanced at Kakashi hoping he would speak for her as she couldn't actually make a sound at the moment.

"Chakra overload from enhancing her muscles," Kakashi explained for her.

"Who taught you how to consciously enhance your body like that? You would had to demonstrate you had the chakra control to do such things without hurting yourself like that before anyone taught you," Hachi continued sounding mad.

"I-I," Suzue stuttered. Her whole face was burning and she could feel her eyes prick with tears as she tried to answer. And this was so stupid. She should not be having an anxiety attack talking to a medic who apparently knew everyone on her team but her.

Warm green-brown eyes filled her vision. Suzue blinked as she readjusted her focus to the eyes staring into her own. The purring sound registered next making Suzue blink again as she realized the woman before was the one making the noise. The medic had her hand on Suzue's head and was gently petting her lavender hair.

Then Suzue's vision was filled with black fabric and brown hair as the women rubbed her cheek against hers. And leaving behind a trail of saliva. She continued rubbing their cheeks together and petting Suzue's hair for about a minute before pulling away from the younger girl. A small smile graced Hachi's lips as she looked Suzue in the eye again.

"Feel better?"

Suzue blinked in bafflement before realizing that she did feel better. She didn't feel anxious anymore. Her body relaxed and loose. Her chest wasn't constricting so that she could barely breathe. The girl nodded.

"Good," Hachi purred. "I'm sorry I scared you but it's important to know if someone has been teaching you to these enhancements when they shouldn't. Can you answer my question now?"

"...I can't use chakra subconsciously," Suzue informed her shyly. "It was noticed when I entered the Academy and the chakra specialist had me go through the chakra damage rehab program to learn how."

"Ah, that makes sense then," Hachi mused tilting her head to the side. "You must be really good with it though to end up with the damage you did to yourself, though. I assume you're normally more careful?"

"Yes."

"Good, who's your chakra specialist? You still see them right?"

"Hyuuga Ayaka. She's my main doctor ever since I was diagnosed."

"Good, she's one of the better ones. You're in good hands then," Hachi nodded then beckoned her over. "Get over here and I'll heal what damage remains. I'm assuming Kakashi-sempai-nii-san had a doctor look at your arms at some point in the last three weeks."

"You wound me with your doubt," Kakashi bemoaned.

"Like we would let Kakashi-sensei get away with not taking care of Suzue-chan!" Naruto declared as Sasuke grunted his agreement.

"Should you be healing, though?" Suzue blurted out instead of heading over to the woman. "You gave birth recently."

"Ah, you don't need to worry. I have exact chakra control," Hachi explained. At Suzue's confused looked she continued. "For most people, the highest level of control over chakra one can have is perfect chakra control. Meaning that they're control is so good that it's complete. But there is a higher level of control that people don't bother to strive for because it's too good. That is exact chakra control. Meaning that I use the exact amount of chakra needed for any jutsu."

"Why wouldn't people want that level of control?" Sasuke asked. The woman glanced at him before answering.

"Any mistake made in the execution of a jutsu result in a failed jutsu...or a completely different jutsu from what you're aiming for. For example, if I tried to use henge no jutsu but my handseals weren't perfect, and I mean completely perfect, it's possible I'll end up sinking myself into the earth instead of turning into whatever I was planning to."

"Who did that at the Academy?" Kakashi asked sounding amused.

"'Karu did. Luckily his academy teacher had an earth affinity and was able to get him out of the ground. Had to remodel the classroom, though," Hachi answered with a smirk.

"That sounds like it sucks," Naruto snorted as he crossed his arms.

"It can. Pretty much no one in my family can use ninjutsu because of it. Despite what one of my cousin thinks. Exact chakra control is hereditary in the Oden clan," Hachi continued to explain. "So back to your question on whether or not I should be healing, the "upside" - don't laugh Kakashi-sempai-nii-san - is that I'm scarily good as a medic and that being pregnant doesn't affect how I use my chakra. I can use it without harm to myself or the baby inside me."

"Really?" Suzue asked in surprised, because about the only thing new she learned in sex-ed class they had in the Academy is that when a kunoichi got pregnant she couldn't use chakra because of another person growing inside them. Then after giving birth they would have to relearn how to use their chakra because it changed. Suzue had figured that was why most shinobi families only had one or two children.

"Yep, now let's get your arms healed," the woman smiled, beckoning her back over. "Unless you have any more protests."

Suzue felt herself flush and she shook her head. She walked over to the woman who gently took one of her arms and pushed the sleeve up. The brown haired women didn't bother to take off the bandages as she slowly ran a dark green chakra coated hand down her arm. The chakra was heavy and made Suzue tense a little as it didn't feel like the normal medical chakra she was used to when being healed.

"Relax, I know my chakra is heavier than most medics but it's still clean. It won't give you chakra poisoning. Ayaka-san's chakra feels different from other medics too, doesn't it?" Hachi asked as she dropped the first arm and pulled the other to her to treat it with the same process.

"...Yeah," Suzue admitted as she tried to force herself to relax. It didn't really work.

"Done. Now follow my movements and tell me if you feel any pain in your arms," Hachi instructed. Suzue obediently followed her moments and didn't feel any pain at all. "Good, now place your hands against mine and channel chakra through your arms. Tell me if there is any pain."

Suzue did so and informed the other that there wasn't any pain.

"Great. You should be good then. I'll update your medical files next time I swing by the hospital. And I suggest that in the next day or so you get yourself checked out by Ayaka-san since she's your main doctor," Hachi told her before she turned to Naruto. "Come here and let me check you out too."

"I'm fine, though, Neko-sensei!" Naruto protested even though he still walked up to the woman who just smiled at him.

"Let me be the judge of that, alright?" Hachi hummed as she ran a hovering hand across his chest. She hummed, "Did you get into a fight with a hedgehog?"

"Senbon-user," Kakashi answered looking bored as he watched them.

"That so. Well, you've healed up pretty well for the most part," the woman concluded as her hands rose to cup Naruto's neck. They flared dark green for a moment before she withdrew them. "Neck feel better now?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked as he moved his neck back and forth. Then he grinned. "I didn't even realize it was so stiff! Thanks, Neko-sensei."

"You're welcome; Sasuke-kun," Hachi called. Sasuke huffed but walked over to her. She repeated the process but her hands lingered over the boy's eyes instead of neck. "You've awakened the Sharingan."

"...Yes," Sasuke confirmed. The woman rested her hands on his eyes and they glowed green for a moment before drawing away.

"Do your eyes feel less stressed?"

Sasuke blinked a couple of times before giving her a wide-eyed look, "Yes...I didn't even..."

"Awakening any level of the Sharingan puts stress on your eyes. From what I can tell, you not only awakened your eyes but also leveled them up after awakening them. Doing that in such a short period of time can damage your eyes. If you ever find yourself on a mission where that happens again and you can't immediately return to Konoha to see me, blindfold yourself for about a day. It will give your eyes the rest they need to recover from the power increase. You understand Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sempai-nii-san?"

"Yes, Hachi-chan," Kakashi answered. Sasuke nodded.

"You're fine now Sasuke-kun. Your turn," Hachi called to Kakashi who heaved an annoyed sigh.

"Can't we do this later?"

"You're here now."

"...Fine," Kakashi agreed as he walked over to her. She did her medical scan lingering over Kakashi's left hand, Sharingan eye, and his chest.

"Take better care of your hands. And try to remember that you're not wearing arm guards anymore when you fight," Hachi huffed. "But I'm impressed that you avoided chakra exhaustion. Not by much but that you managed it."

"Mah, my cute little genin are the reason for that," Kakashi drawled.

"Good, don't let him talk you into long-winded plans," Hachi ordered the three of them.

"So mean, turning my students against me," Kakashi whined.

"Like you and your team didn't let Kaa-sensei talk you all into doing things against Tou-sensei," Hachi huffed with a smirk.

"True," Kakashi acknowledge. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," Hachi nodded. "I'll update all of your medical records as well. And I want at least two days of rest from all of you. That means no training for those two days as well."

"Really, I can't train? But how am I supposed to get stronger?" Naruto whined at the older woman.

"By taking care of your body so it doesn't break down on you," Hachi told him. "And I'll maul you if you don't follow my medical orders."

"Fine..." Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms behind his head.

"Maul us?" Suzue asked in confusion.

"I maul people who don't listen to my medical orders. If they think they're all healed up then they should be able to keep me from mauling them."

"And she will do it too. I've seen her do it," Kakashi confirmed. "Not a pretty sight. And she won't always heal you afterward."

"Just depends on how much you annoy me," the woman snorted arms crossed under her rather large bosom. "Was there anything else any of you needed?"

"No, just healing Suzue-chan's arms before we reported in," Kakashi answered.

"Suzue's your name?" Hachi asked looking at Suzue.

"Ah, yes! Hagiwara Suzue. It is a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for healing me," Suzue introduced with a bow.

"Kita Hachimitsu, heir of the Oden clan. You're welcome to call me Hachi-chan, or Neko-sensei as the boys do."

"You're name's not Neko-sensei?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"No, it's a nickname I earned at the hospital, which you are welcome to come to me if you need healing, Suzue-chan. Just ask for Neko-sensei. Everyone there knows me by that."

"I'll keep it in mind," Suzue nodded.

"Great! Now run along you four. You have to go report in and Kakashi-sempai-nii-san you're invited over for dinner tonight so that you can inform me on just went down on your latest mission!"

"Mah, we'll see," Kakashi waved off as he turned and started leaving the courtyard.

"Mom's cooking!" Hachi called after him.

"Have a good day," Suzue waved as she scurried after Kakashi. Both boys said their own goodbyes and followed after.

Once they were out of the compound and on their way to the Hokage tower, Suzue finally got the nerve to ask, "Does she always call you sempai-nii-san?"

"Yes, she does. I think now is mostly to annoy me," Kakashi offered with a huff.

"Why?" Naruto asked. "It's weird that she does, isn't?"

"Most people don't go around calling other sempai-nii-san so yes it's weird," Kakashi confirmed. "As to why...our sensei's were dating when she was a genin and for some reason, her team decided that calling my team sempai-nii-san or sempai-nee-san would be awesome. She also tries to get me to call her Hachi-kempai-imoto-chan on a regular basis."

"That's more of a mouth full," Sasuke huffed.

"Which is why I have yet to call her that," Kakashi agreed.

Suzue glanced back towards the compound that she couldn't see anymore. Kakashi's sensei had been the Fourth Hokage...so did that mean that Hachimitsu's sensei had been Uzumaki Kushina?

* * *

Reporting was...interesting. Because their mission went to hell in a handbasket, they had to actually go and see the Hokage about it. The Third was a well known figure in the village. He was known to act like a grandfather to everyone, especially kids. Suzue still felt slightly intimidated by him. She was glad that Naruto was on such good terms with him and that Kakashi was doing most of the reporting for them. Naruto threw in his two cents when he felt they were needed.

Once done reporting to the Hokage, Kakashi then dragged them to the Mission Offices to fill out and preliminary report. He also showed them how to fill out the paperwork for missions that got upped in rank so they could get the pay for it. During their down time, they would have to write an actual report for the Administrative Ninja to file away or whatever they did with the reports.

It was just after lunch time by the time they finished everything.

"Alright, you three have the next three days off to do whatever you want. But please make sure you get your mission reports done in that time and turned in."

"Do you even turn in your reports on time?" Sasuke asked with an annoyed glare. To be fair, Kakashi had been pounding this into their head since the Hokage had dismissed them.

"Mah, well have fun and relax," Kakashi eye-smiled at them. "Dismissed!"

Then he was gone.

"He's totally late in turning in his reports!" Naruto huffed as he glared at the spot. "He probably gives really lame excuses too."

"Somehow I can see that," Suzue agreed with a sigh.

"Hey, I'm going to Ichiraku! It's been forever since I've been there! I hope they didn't forget me!" Naruto rambled, "Do you guys want to come with me?"

"...Um," Suzue stalled as she took in the time. She bit her lip trying to figure out how to turn Naruto down.

"Just spit it out," Sasuke sighed when she took too long.

"I...should go check in with...some people," Suzue got out as she fidgeted.

"Okay then," Naruto grinned. "We'll just go out some other time. Teme?"

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered as Naruto gave him a grin. Sasuke let out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, but I'm not paying for you."

"What?! Of course not! It's not a date," Naruto informed him sounding scandalized.

"We'll see you later," Sasuke said as he started walking down the street.

"Wha...Ah! Bye, Suzue-chan see you later! Wait up for me Teme!" Naruto shouted after the other boy as he went running down the street to catch up.

"Bye," Suzue waved at both of them as they disappeared into the crowds.

Suzue wondered if she should invite her teammates over for dinner sometime as she glanced at the position of the sun to guess what time it was. Catching her bottom lip on her teeth, Suzue decided that it was still close enough to lunch time that she could go visit her grandmother without her grandfather there. Another brief moment and Suzue decided to take to the rooftops instead of walking the streets like her teammates had.

The girl made a brief stop at her house to drop off everything that she had on her that was metal before continuing to where her grandmother lived. The lavender-haired girl paused outside the house and did a brief scan to see if she could sense if her grandfather was at home. Nothing came up though Suzue couldn't be a hundred percent sure as he did sometimes go around without any metal on him.

Still, she felt sure enough that he wasn't home to swing around to the side of the house and jump up to an open window on the second story. Landing lightly on the edge of the window, Suzue peered in to see her great-grandmother, Hagiwara Yukiko, sitting up in bed with a scroll opened across her legs. She looked up as she noticed Suzue's shadow spread across the floor and smiled happily at her.

"Rei! What a pleasant surprise! How is my favorite granddaughter?" Yukiko beamed at her making Suzue smile sadly back at her.

"It's Suzue-chan, Grandmother. And I am doing well. I just got back from my first mission outside the village," Suzue answered as she walked into the room.

"Suzue-chan? Oh, yes, your hair is so much paler. But you know, you look just like your mother it's so hard to tell sometimes," Yukiko rambled. "Is your mother going to come visit too? It's been awhile since she's come by."

"I'm sure she'll come visit when she can," Suzue lied instead of trying to persuade her grandmother that her mother was dead. It seemed today was going to be one of the days she didn't remember that bit of information.

"Of course she will. She needs to. Your Grandfather is just being stubborn. She needs to set him straight about some things," Yukiko informed Suzue who snorted a little.

"I don't think Mother would help very much," Suzue countered. "She and Grandfather don't get along very well."

"Nonsense!" Yukiko waved off with one wrinkled hand. "They're good for each other. Keeps them on their toes."

"If you say so," Suzue sighed with a faint smile. Yukiko's mind was fading with age and she had started mixing memories and her own longing on to things. Like her son and her granddaughter getting alone and not hating each other. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been good. Emiko-chan was just telling me about how she saw Hiruzen-kun and Danzo-kun kissing on a training ground."

"Really now?" Suzue asked as she realized that Fumiko was one of Yukiko's old friends who was more than likely dead. And in the fact that her great-grandmother was now going to tell her about some rumor that may or may not have been true about their current Hokage fifty or something years ago.

"Yes! Quite the scandal don't you think? I mean, Hiruzen is supposed to be dating Biwako right now," Yukiko continued to ramble. Suzue listened as the old woman recounted long ago rumors about Hiruzen, Danzo, and an Uchiha named Kagami.

"Of course Kagami-kun was supposedly in a relationship with our Second Hokage, Tobirama-san."

"Wasn't Tobirama-sama old enough to be his father?" Suzue questioned just to poke holes in Yukiko's story and partly glad she wasn't going on about Tobirama and Madara's supposed love life this time that may or may not have included Hashirama.

"What does that matter? They're both adults and if I wasn't married I would happily have a little tussle with him too! Even with him being older."

"That's a little too much information to be sharing with me."

"Bah! I'm sure you've started looking at boys by now. Any that catch your eye?" Yukiko asked wagging her pale purple eyebrows at Suzue.

"No...I haven't started looking at boys. They're still...boys," Suzue huffed.

"Don't you hang out with any boys? You are at the Academy, right? Any nice looking teachers?"

"I feel like I should not be looking at my teachers that way," Suzue pointed out. "And I graduated a few months ago. I'm on a team now."

"A team? Well, who's on your team?" Yukiko demanded. "Anyone worth getting hot and bothered about?"

"Um...I don't really get hot and bothered about boys..." Suzue pointed out.

"Fine, I'll be the judge of that then. Tell me who is on your team!"

"Hatake Kakashi is my sensei and my teammates are Uchiha Sasuke and," Suzue hesitated then and did a quick scan of her surroundings so make sure no one was listening, before saying, "and Namikaze Naruto."

"Namikaze you say? I knew a Namikaze at one point. He was the such a sweet child. A bit naive it seemed but sweet. I wonder where he is now..."

Suzue kept her mouth shut to that answered. The lavender-haired girl had heard enough of Yukiko's ramblings to know she was talking about Namikaze Minato. Yukiko didn't know that Naruto was Minato's son but she did know that Naruto was the jailer for the Kyuubi. She also did not like Naruto at all, which was why Suzue had used Namikaze as his family name instead of Uzumaki.

"And an Uchiha you say? Well, they are always pretty to look at, just like the Hyuuga if you can get past their white eyes," Yukiko continued on. "And Hatake? I once dated a Hatake. I believe his name was...Satoshi? Anyway, he was very pretty if a bit of a player."

"Hatake Satoshi?" Suzue repeated as she tried to place if she had heard that name before.

"Yes! He was tons of fun to be with. I think he settled with a Nara? No, I don't think he ever settled down with one person but he did have a kid with someone...I think," Yukiko muttered as she tried to remember.

"Were their..." Suzue started but trailed off as she realized that she could feel metal at the front door of the house.

"Oh, seems Yoshinori-kun is back!" Yukiko announced as she also picked up on the metal at the front door.

"It was nice visiting with you Grandmother, but I need to go now," Suzue said as she stood up and leaned down to give the old woman a kiss on the cheek. "I'll come back and visit again soon."

"Oh, but Rei-chan. You really need to make up with your father," Yukiko called out as Suzue made her way to the window.

"I'll tell her that," Suzue offered with a wince as she realized that Yukiko had forgotten again who she was. "Bye, Grandmother."

"Oh well, bye then. I'll see you soon."

Suzue was down on the ground and running through the streets away from the house before her grandmother could even finish. She had never gotten along with her grandfather mostly because he had never gotten along with her mother. He's feelings about his daughter had transferred to Suzue and she had long since given up ever being on good terms with him. It was best to just avoid him whenever possible then interact with him.

A few blocks away, Suzue slowed to a brisk walk instead of a flat out run and debated on what to do next. Her uncle wasn't in town and wouldn't be back for another few months yet. So she didn't need to go check in with him. It was mid afternoon which meant that the Academy would be letting out.

Suzue bit the inside of her cheek before deciding that she would risk visiting her dad's family home to see if either of her older siblings were in the village. Several minutes later had Suzue pouting at the house from outside its gate. She couldn't pick up any moving metal inside the house which probably meant that no one was home. With a sigh, Suzue decided that she would just have to wait until one of them came looking for her.

"What are you doing here?" a voice snarled behind Suzue just as she was turning to leave. The lavender-haired girl turned so she could confirm just who it was that was talking to her. She fought down the grimace at the sight of both her younger sisters standing there glaring at her.

"I thought Mom said you weren't allowed to come here anymore," the other one, Fumiko, threw in eyeing her with a frown.

"I was looking for either Toshiyuki-nii-san or Mizuki-neechan," Suzue answered as she tugged at the hem of her skirt and took a step back.

"Mom told you to stay away from them," the older one, Kanon, sniffed. "Stop darkening our home!"

"Sorry Kanon, I was just leaving," Suzue offered as she took another step back.

"Don't use my name so familiarly!" Kanon snapped. "We are not family."

"Sorry Kanon-san," Suzue amended. "I'll just leave then..."

"I thought I told you to stay away from here," another voice spoke up behind Suzue. A glance back revealed her step-mother, Yumi, and older sister, Mizuki, standing behind her.

"Suzue-chan! You're back," her older sister, Mizuki, greeted happily.

"Don't talk to her!" Yumi snapped at her eldest daughter.

"I'll talk to her if I want, it's not her fault that Dad-"

"That doesn't matter," Yumi cut off before turning to Suzue. "You get out of here and leave my family alone!"

"Suzue-chan, let's go get a snack!" Mizuki grinned before Suzue could say anything or just leave.

"Mizuki!"

"I'll be back later, Mom!" Mizuki huffed as she dragged Suzue away from the rest of her family.

"...Sorry," Suzue whispered once they were several streets away. "I didn't mean to cause problems...I just wanted to know if you or Toshiyuki-nii-san were home..."

"Well, I don't think there's any reason why you shouldn't be able to check up on your older siblings," Mizuki snorted. "And really, Mom shouldn't treat you like that. Dango and tea sound good?"

"...That's fine," Suzue confirmed and was dragged into a tea shop. They sat at a table and Suzue played with the hems of her sleeves as Mizuki ordered.

"Now," Mizuki started once they had their food and drinks. "How was your first C-Rank Mission? Were you bored out of your mind?"

"...It's wasn't that boring," Suzue offered before biting one of the dango.

"What someone actually attacked?"

"You could say that," Suzue hedged and quickly hid her smile as Mizuki gave her an unimpressed look.

"Okay, what happened on your mission? Something must have happened. Right? Or are you just totally pulling my leg and it was boring as hell and you spent the whole trip thinking of just how you could spice it up to your older siblings?"

"I sort of wish that really happened...would have been less stressful," Suzue sighed. She ate another dango before launching into a story about what happened on her mission. Mizuki was staring at her in utter disbelief by the end of it and had even stopped eating her dango. Suzue eyed them and wondered if she could steal one before her sister regained her brain function.

"...You're totally pulling my leg. You got your sensei to help, that's why you know to throw around names like Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist," Mizuki responded once she finished processing all the info.

"I can actually see my sensei doing that just to mess with people...unfortunately, that story was completely true," Suzue reminded her.

"I just can't believe that...why didn't your sensei just have you all come back when it got bumped to a higher mission? I mean that was your first mission outside Konoha and it was supposed to be a C-Rank Mission...Not what an A-Rank?" Mizuki rambled.

"We're a combat team. It sort of makes sense that we would continue on with a mission when it gets bumped up in rank. Don't combat mission nearly ways get moved in rank?"

"It's still your first mission! First real mission! Just who is your sensei? I forgot," Mizuki added on at Suzue's raised eyebrow.

"Hatake Kakashi,"

"...I guess that sort of explains it but really? " Mizuki grumped crossing her arms. Suzue risked it and swiped on of the dango sticks. "He should be looking out for his little students more!"

"He does look out for us," Suzue counted and wondered when Mizuki would realize that she was eating her dango. "He takes care of us...or at least treats us like we're is nin-dogs."

"...I'm not sure how to feel about that," Mizuki muttered. "He really treats you like you're a dog?"

"It feels like that sometimes," Suzue shrugged.

"I've heard some interesting things about that man...and wait a minute! That was my dango!" Mizuki nearly shouted as Suzue ate the last bite. "When did you?"

"...When you were busy trying to wrap your mind around my over ranked mission," Suzue answered once she finished chewing and swallowed.

"You are way too sneaky for your own good," Mizuki complained as she slumped over the table. She then grabbed her plate and drew it close to her body with a glare. "Mine."

"How have you been?" Suzue asked after a moment of staring at the dango.

"Been fine," Mizuki waved off. "My mission didn't jump two ranks. Actually, it was really boring."

"Borings can be good."

"Maybe if you didn't have a teammate who can't stand being bored," Mizuki countered. "I don't think I can ever look at a chipmunk again."

"...I'm not going to ask," Suzue decided after a moment of deliberation. Mizuki's teammate was odd. Odd enough that Suzue was mildly surprised he wasn't an elite jounin already since he met the insanity requirements. She also really hoped that he and Naruto never met. Funerals for uneaten ramen cups that had to be thrown away would seem normal for whatever those two could come up together.

"Yeah, I've been trying to forget..." Mizuki agreed. "But how are you holding up? You had your first kill on this mission, right? Any nightmares?"

"...Not really," Suzue shrugged. "I was hoping that Toshiyuki would be back so I can talk to him about it."

"You can talk to me if you need too," Mizuki offered.

"...I'm fine... I can wait," Suzue told her sister as Suzue stared into her tea.

"Really, Suzue-chan. I'm there for you."

"I know that."

"Fine, be that way," Mizuki sighed before asking, "How are your teammates holding up?"

"They're fine. Same as always," Suzue shrugged.

"And they haven't started treating you different or something? Because that sometimes happens when one team member has their first kill but the others haven't."

"...Sasuke was perfectly willing to kill someone and would have if he had the chance. So he's not really bothered with me having killed people. Even after watching me massacre a group of thugs. And Naruto's...Naruto. I'm not really sure it's sunk in that I've killed. He very much lives in his own little world," Suzue tried to explain.

"...Huh. Well, that's an interesting..." Mizuki mused. "I suppose they would look at it differently. Naruto-kun didn't witness any of your kills. And with Sasuke-kun...he just watched you Push and Pull on metal to slaughter the mob. That right there is kind of you didn't really do it. Different if you had gone in with a kunai and just cut all their throats out."

"Guess so," Suzue shrugged.

"You seem really detached from it, too."

Suzue made a face as she realized that Mizuki wasn't going to be letting this go. "I guess I am...in a way it seems like a dream."

"You sure you don't want to talk to me about it? I don't know when Toshiyuki is going to be back in town for you to talk to him about it."

"I'm fine," Suzue snapped. She winced as she realized how she had reacted. "No, really, I'm fine. I'm dealing with it."

"Uh-huh," Mizuki nodded giving her knowing look. "Somehow I don't believe you."

"Whatever," Suzue huffed looking away from her older sister. "I would much rather talk to Nii-san about it than you."

"Look I'm not the same-"

"It has nothing to do with how you use to treat me, Mizuki," Suzue interrupted. She could feel her face burning. "I forgave you for that already. You don't need to keep trying to prove yourself to me. I would just rather talk to Toshiyuki-nii-san about it than you, alright?"

"...Whatever," Mizuki huffed as she glared at a wall.

"...I should be getting home," Suzue finally said after a minute of awkward silence.

"Alright," Mizuki acknowledged as she stood up. "Avoid the house for a while. I'll tell Toshiyuki that you want to see him when he comes back so you don't have to go looking for him."

"Thank you," Suzue nodded as she stood up too.

"I'll see you later!" Mizuki waved and left the shop without a backward glance.

Suzue watched her leave before leaving herself. She scowled at the ground, frustrated that she and Mizuki had ended their meeting on such a sour note. She had thought they were getting along better and moving past what had happened in the past. Apparently, Mizuki wasn't as over it as Suzue had thought. With a wipe at her eyes, Suzue took a breath to help keep the frustration down and the tears at bay before she turned her attention to thinking about what she needed to buy at the market.

* * *

Author Note: So some unpleasant business first...

It has come to my attention that some of you don't like the cover art for Blackout, which is fine. Everyone has their own opinion. But don't send me a review trashing on it just because I am not the artist who did the picture. That is not okay. It's mean, rude, and hurt my feels as the artist in question is my sister who was kind enough to draw a picture of Suzue for me because I don't do digital art. I also consider her a better artist than me. So if you don't like the picture, fine. Just don't send me rude reviews about how horrible it is and imply that I should take it down just because I'm not the artist.

Now that is out of the way...

Thank you for reading the latest chapter of Blackout. I hope you all enjoyed it! And yes, Shuukaku and Hachimitsu from Defunct, which I co-write with TricksterTheif, made an appearance. They're going to be minor characters in this story only popping up rarely. More Hachi than Shuu probably...And there is a little bit of a difference in Blackout than Defunct, the biggest being that Hachi and Shuu are not twins in Blackout. Shuu is Hachi's younger sister by about 8 years…

Anyways, I'm having a little contest of sorts to see if any of you can guess who Hachi's husband is! It will be going until I post the next chapter which I'm saying will be Nov 13th/14th. To anyone who guesses correctly you can then request a snippet for Blackout or Defunct. Though if it's anything for Defunct then limit it to Hachi or something to do with her please. Shuu is TricksterTheif's character so I don't generally write her...Moving on, your request can be a rewrite of a scene from someone else's point of view, something from Suzue's past, or Hachi's, or you could just request some sort of headcanon I have for the Naruto world. You could even request something to do with future events but if you do then you won't get it until the story is there. Like requesting Tsunade's thoughts on Suzue, you would have to wait until Tsunade came up in the story and met Suzue.

And some hints for who Hachi's husband is! He is a cannon character and if you have read Defunct then you are more likely to guess who it is.

That should be it...Reminder that I am on tumblr under lady-hachimitsu. I'll be posting when updates happen and you are welcome send me questions or whatever about the story. Or just bother me if I'm late for an update again…

Thank you again to everyone who's reviewed, followed, or favorited! You all make my day!


	6. Chapter 6 - Missions Never Go Right

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Own Pokemon Moon but not Naruto.

Warnings: Anxiety, panic attacks, more violence than typical in Naruto, body horror, gore, mental trauma, phobias, Orochimaru being a creep, zombies, mistaken ghost possession

Chapter Six - Missions Never Go Right

* * *

Suzue hated how her stomach twisted and turned itself into knots at the thought of going up to the hospital receptionist to ask if Hyuga Ayaka was working today. Her heart felt like it was trying to beat out of her chest as she mentally prepared herself to talk to the woman who wasn't even paying attention to her at the moment. The lavender-haired girl wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Once she felt that could actually say something to the receptionist instead of just standing like a dork at the desk not able to make a sound, Suzue approached and asked, "Is Ayaka-sensei in today?"

The receptionist looked up from her paperwork at the sound of her voice and Suzue flushed as the woman asked, "Yes, I believe she is. Hold on a moment and I'll see if she's available to see a walk in."

Giving the older woman a nodded, Suzue fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as she waited for the receptionist to look up the information on the computer. Computers did exist in this world but they weren't the multipurpose, can do nearly anything, sleek models, she remembered from her life before. At least from right before her death. The computers here were more like the bulky, simple ones she vaguely remembered from her first childhood. Suzue hadn't been able to find out too much about computers in this life as they weren't an every-household-has-one item.

Computers were generally only made for certain purposes. Suzue was sure the hospital's computers were only used to keep track of schedules of patients and doctors. Maybe they were used for medical bills and accounting purposes, but she didn't think they had a use beyond that. As far as she could tell, no one even uses computers to store large stores of information yet. At least in Konoha. And she had yet to find evidence of anyone inventing the internet or anything even remotely similar yet.

"Ayaka-sensei is currently with someone at the moment but after her current patient, she can see you for a few minutes. I'm assuming you're just here to see her as a follow-up from another medic healing you?" the receptionist asked giving her a look.

"Yes," Suzue nodded quickly before blurting out in a rush. "Ayaka-sensei is my regular doctor and the medic who healed me suggested I go see her to make sure there are no problems she might have missed."

"Yes, yes," the woman waved off already turning back to her paperwork. "You can go wait for her outside her office. You know where it is? Good. I'll alert her that she has a walk-in patient."

"Ah, thank you," Suzue bowed before scurrying off wondering how the receptionist alerted the doctors that they had a new patient.

Tension eased out of her shoulders as she walked to Ayaka-sensei's office. Suzue rubbed one of her arms in a nervous gesture as she hovered outside the office debating which chair to sit in when a voice called out her making the lavender-haired girl look up.

"Muscle-bond freak?" Haruno Sakura asked as she jogged over to Suzue who felt her anxiety suddenly skyrocket at being confronted with the pink-haired girl.

"Ah," was all Suzue could get out as her arms wrapped around her torso in a defensive manner.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura continued unbothered that Suzue hadn't greeted her back. "Is Sasuke-kun okay? He's not hurt is he?"

"Sa-sasuke's fine," Suzue managed to answer, fingers digging into her arms. "I-i'm just h-here to s-see my doctor."

"That's good," Sakura breathed out in relief. "Though it would have been so romantic if he had gotten hurt and I could have nursed him back to health. That would show that pig, Ino!"

"...You're a nurse?" Suzue managed to ask then backtracked a little, "I mean, in training to be a nurse?"

"Medic," Sakura corrected with a flip of her long pink hair. "I'm in training to be a medic-nin. The jounin-sensei my team was assigned too didn't pass us but she did make sure we were placed in places she thought we would do well in! And she was right! I'm already the top of my group and going places."

"That's...good," Suzue offered somewhat glad that at least Sakura was on a path that would help her become the amazing kunoichi she had been later on in the Naruto story. Suzue was even more relieved that she didn't have to do anything to get Sakura on that path.

"Of course it's good. In fact, it's great! This will totally give me an edge in getting Sasuke-kun," Sakura boasted. "Which, by the way, you've been keeping away from him, right? You haven't been dragging him down?"

"Wha? What?" Suzue stammered confusedly.

"You're not trying to get Sasuke-kun as your boyfriend," Sakura spelled out. "Because he is way too good for you. You and Naruto haven't been holding him back in missions or anything, right?"

Suzue blinked at the other girl and felt herself get slightly annoyed at her. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"Of course it's my business!" Sakura snapped back making Suzue flinch a little. "I'm going to get Sasuke-kun as my boyfriend."

"Sasuke's not interested in having a girlfriend. Not to mention we're barely teenagers. Why do you even want a boyfriend?" Suzue threw back, the sound of her heartbeat thumping loudly in her ears. She could feel her cheeks heat up, though, she wasn't sure if it was because she was embarrassed or frustrated.

"Sasuke-kun's just shy," Sakura waved off then paused before narrowing her eyes at Suzue. "And since when did you start using Sasuke-kun's name without a suffix? There is no way he gave you permission to do so."

"He uses my name without a suffix," Suzue informed her with a frown. "So I use his without one. He hasn't said anything about it."

"Lies!" Sakura protested. "You are trying to get Sasuke-kun. You're just being more sneaky about it. But I won't let you. I'm onto you now."

"I'm not!" Suzue snapped in a loud voice that actually made Sakura take a step back in surprise. Suzue, herself, blinked in surprise as she hadn't meant to yell.

"I...I don't believe you," Sakura countered once she recovered from the quiet girl's outburst. "You just want Sasuke-kun all to yourself. Not that I blame you for that. I mean, he's so cool and dreamy. Any girl would want him."

"Is that all other girls really think about? Boys?" Suzue grumbled as she watched Sakura giggle to herself.

"Oh don't try and pass yourself as any different. Unless," Sakura started before blinking and giving Suzue a once over. The pink-haired girl's eyes suddenly widen and she pointed a finger at the other girl before continuing, "You're not really a girl, are you?! You're muscles, flat chest...you're actually a boy!"

"What?" Suzue asked in total bewilderment at Sakura conclusion. "Just...what?"

"I assure you Haruno-san, Suzue-chan here is very much female," a voice from behind Sakura spoke up drawing the two girl's attention.

"Ayaka-sensei! I was just-"

"Leaving Haruno-san," Hyuuga Ayaka interrupted not looking pleased. "I'm sure you have better things to do than to harass patients."

"O-of course, Ayaka-sensei," Sakura agreed with a small bow. "I'll be on my way."

Suzue watched her former classmate disappear down the hallway and around a corner before looking back up at her main doctor.

"I'll be sure to make a note in her file that she has a problem bothering patients," Ayaka informed Suzue as she turned towards her office door beckoning Suzue to follow her.

"Y-you don't have to do that. And I'm not really a patient. I just need a quick checkup," Suzue rambled as she followed the older woman into her office.

"Yes I do," Ayaka countered as she sat down a file on her desk and picked up another. "You are still a patient, even if all you're here for is a checkup. And she should know better than to bother others like that. I know you well enough that you almost never yell."

Suzue flush as she realized that Ayaka had heard some of the her...argument?...with Sakura. "You heard that?"

"Yes, I did," Ayaka nodded. "Was she from your class? Has she always treated you like that?"

"...We never even talked until I ended up on the team with her crush," Suzue muttered staring at the ground. "She's just under the impression that I'm now competition for the boy in question...and I just don't get it."

"Well, crushes can do that I suppose," Ayaka sighed. "She'll grow out of it in a year or so, I'm sure. And by then you'll probably have reached puberty and have crushes of your own, so you'll understand where she's coming from."

"I'm not going to be acting like her and every other girl from our class," Suzue protested, fingers digging into her arms again. Getting crushes on people and acting like all those other girls couldn't be normal. Though, she guessed the fact that every girl but Hinata and herself acted like that around Sasuke suggested that it was normal. Which just baffled her.

And if she really thought about it, Hinata would be acting just like them if she wasn't so shy. Only her attention would be directed at Naruto, not Sasuke. Even her sister, Kanon, acted like that a couple of times Suzue had seen her around Sasuke back in the Academy.

"Hmm, maybe if you tell yourself that enough you won't," Ayaka hummed in a tone that sounded like she was just humoring Suzue's belief. The lavender-haired girl glared at the ground, annoyed at her doctor for implying that she would end up acting like all those girls.

"Alright, moving on," Ayaka said as she flipped open the file she had picked up. "I'm assuming you're here as a follow up to Neko-sensei's healing to make sure there are no complications?"

"Yes, she suggested it," Suzue confirmed. "...And you actually call her that?"

"Yes, everyone calls her that here. Started as a joke, I think. But by now, nearly everyone here only knows her as Neko-sensei. Most people think that's her actual name too. But, she is one of the best healers we have at the hospital even if she gets queasy over the oddest things," Akaya muttered as she scanned something in the file. "So I doubt there will be any problems. And she's already updated your file with what she did. You tore all the muscles in your arms from over enhancement?"

"Yes, and they had to heal for over two weeks without chakra assistance," Suzue informed her.

"Any pain? Problems channeling chakra? Have you used any jutsu since you've been injured?" Ayaka asked.

"No pain, I didn't have any problems channeling chakra yesterday for...Neko-sensei, and I haven't tried to do any jutsu since I've been injured besides using Kinzoku Idōnin," Suzue answered in a long-suffering tone.

"Alright, then, will you do a henge no jutsu for me, please?" Ayaka asked as she activated her Byakugan. Suzue did as asked and henged into a copy of her doctor. The Hyuuga studied her for several moments before telling her to dismiss the henge. "Everything looks good from a chakra standpoint. It doesn't look like you damaged any of your coils from what you did. Hold out your arms for me please?"

Suzue did as asked and watched Ayaka's hands as they started to glow green and she hovered them over her arms.

"No lingering physical damage either," Ayaka confirmed. "You got lucky this time, but please remember in the future that doing this is a bad idea."

"Having to suffer through chakra-less healing has firmly ingrained that it's a bad idea into my mind," Suzue told her as she rubbed the slight tingling feeling in her arms from the leftover medical chakra.

"Good, now don't be training until you're back on active duty and when you do start your ridiculous training again, start light. Don't be starting at where you were before you got injured. Your arm muscles have weakened from what you were the last time I saw you."

"Okay, anything else?"

"Come back if you do notice any problems once you're back on your normal routine. Or any problems in general. Otherwise, you're free to go."

"Alright," Suzue acknowledged as she stood up. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Oh, one more thing," Ayaka called out before Suzue could make it to the door. "I'm going to be listing Neko-sensei as your second doctor since I noticed that she's the main one for the rest of your team."

"I'm fine with that," Suzue shrugged. "Does it change anything?"

"Only that you'll probably end up seeing her more than me in your ninja career if you end up staying with your team most of it," Ayaka explained. "They'll drag you to the medic they're most familiar with."

"Ah, I see...is that it?"

"You can go," Ayaka waved off. "I have another patient I need to see to now anyways. Have a good day."

"You as well, Ayaka-sensei," Suzue said before leaving the office.

Suzue paused once she was outside the hospital building, glad to not have run into Sakura again, and wondered what to do now. Did she want to go home and try to finish her report or hang around the village and do something? She had taken care of most of her chores yesterday afternoon, so didn't need to do those. There was no one she could go and hang out with besides her teammates and Suzue found herself hesitating to seek them out. After all, they had been together nearly all the time for the last few weeks. She wasn't sure they would want to spend more time with her at this point.

Just as the lavender-haired girl decided to just go back home for the day, a voice from down the road made her look up to see who it was. To her surprise, it was Sasuke and Naruto walking towards her. Well, Naruto was basically running towards her and Sasuke was trailing behind him. Still, Suzue was surprised to see both of them together on their day off. She wondered what caused the two of them to end up together.

"Suzue-chan!" Naruto cried out in greeting as he threw his arms around her in a hug. A brief squeeze later and he let go to grin brightly at her. "Neh! You want to hang out together? Are you doing anything right now? I have an idea on what we can do!"

"I'm not really doing anything, so we can hang out together I guess," Suzue agreed easily before her eyes drifted to Sasuke. "Are you hanging out with us too?"

Sasuke just grunted and turned his head away. Suzue took that to mean yes, he would be hanging out with them.

Turning back to Naruto, Suzue asked, "So, what's this idea you had? And I hope it's not to go spar or something like that."

"Nooooo," Naruto drew out, "It's not something like that. It's well...I have a garden and...a lot of my vegetables and fruits ripened when we were out of the village. So I was thinking we could pick them all and then go have ramen for lunch since I give a lot of the food to Teuchi."

"You have a garden?" Suzue blinked. The thought triggered an old piece of knowledge about Naruto having a green thumb or something. She couldn't remember if that had been canon or fandom anymore now. Waving the thought away as it didn't manner now, Suzue asked, "Who's been taking care of it?"

"Oh, Iruka-sensei said he would and he did! He's the one who helped me set it up," Naruto grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. "So, what do you say?"

"Sure, sounds fun," Suzue smiled then glanced at Sasuke. "How did you get roped into this?"

"I promised him he could have all the tomatoes he wanted if he helped," Naruto answered with a laugh. Sasuke let out an annoyed noise and didn't bother to look at either of them. Suzue noticed the tips of his ears turning pink, though.

"Can I have some of the vegetables and fruits too? Fresh picked stuff usually tastes the best," Suzue asked as Naruto started leading them to his place.

"Sure if you want," Naruto easily agreed.

Suzue suddenly had a thought and gave Naruto a confused looked. "Naruto-kun, why do you grow vegetables? I thought you didn't like them."

"Ah, well," Naruto started as he looked around before waving her and Sasuke in closer and whispered, "It's because Jiji-san thinks I eat those so he doesn't bother to me about not buying vegetables!"

"So...you're tricking the Hokage into thinking that you eat the vegetables you grow yourself so you don't have to eat them at all?" Suzue reasoned out. "Like a prank?"

"Hey, I didn't think of it like that!" Naruto laughed. "But yeah, that's totally it! Awesome right? Just don't go telling anyone."

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered.

"Teme!" Naruto threw back, sticking out his tongue for good measure.

"...Do I want to know how you two met up?" Suzue asked before the two could get into a fist fight.

"Haha, well," Naruto started with a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke grumbled not meeting eye contact with either of them. Suzue felt a little sorry for the poor fence he was currently glaring at, though. It was probably a good thing he couldn't set things on fire with a look of his eyes yet.

"Never mind then," Suzue waved off deciding that if the two of them were that embarrassed by whatever happened, she probably wasn't going to get the truth out of them.

They spent the rest of the walk to Naruto's place with mostly Naruto jabbering on about one thing or another. He had a surprising amount of gossip to share with the two of them and Suzue wondered where he was getting all his information. Suzue threw in her two cents when Naruto asked a question or wanted confirmation on something and Sasuke just quietly wondered along with them.

Suzue had never been to Naruto's apartment before and was happy to find out that it wasn't in the bad part of town or a rundown building like she remembered some stories suggesting. It was a modest apartment and in a good location. Close to the Academy and therefore the Hokage Tower, many of the apartments would have a good view of the Hokage Cliff Face, and was close to one of the market areas in the village.

Naruto explained as he led them to the roof where his garden was, that a lot of his neighbors came and went leaving him the only permanent resident of the apartment building beside the landlady who lived there as well but would disappear for months on end leaving this grumpy dude as her temporary replacement. From the way Naruto was talking about the man, Suzue was left with the impression that her teammate and this guy raged war with each other while his regular landlady was off who knows where. Naruto claimed that she left to visit family.

"But," Naruto finished as they reach the roof, "since I'm the only one who lives here permanently, Landlady-san let me build the garden!"

The blond then showed off a small glass greenhouse to them with a flourish. He then led them inside and showed off every plant he had in there. For something that didn't look like it could hold a lot in it, there were tons of different plants. Naruto even had a couple of dwarf fruit trees. Though, Suzue thought the biggest surprise was that Naruto even had a couple of non-lethal poisonous plants. Including one that would be a good ingredient for itching powder.

"Hey, Naruto-kun," Suzue called out turning from the plant had been examining, "do you make your own itching powdered?"

"Yeah, or at least I did," Naruto answered glancing over to her and notice the plant. "But since I'm not doing much pranking anymore, don't have much use for it."

"...Seriously, how did you manage to graduate the academy?" Sasuke asked in disbelieve.

"By being awesome!" Naruto shouted back. "And why are you questioning that now?"

"Because itching powder can be used in ninja battles," Suzue pointed out with a sigh. "How well do you think an enemy would be able to fight if you threw itching powder at them and it hit?"

"Huh, never thought of that," Naruto blinked as he pondered over the thought.

As Suzue's eyes wandered back over the various plants and she noticed the poisonous ones again, causing a thought came to her and she asked, "Hey, Naruto-kun, did anyone ever tell you that pranking isn't going to help you become a ninja?"

"Iruka-sensei was always going on about how I was wasting my time with pranks," Naruto answered tilting his head to the side. "Why?"

"Those poisonous plants...you use them only for pranks don't you?"

"Yeah...for my more...er, serious ones," Naruto admitted looking shifty. Sasuke glanced from the plants in question to Naruto and seemed to have it click for him.

"You know what Naruto-kun," Suzue started. "Iruka-sensei's great and all, but I don't think he saw how much you're pranks showed just how skilled you can be as a ninja. You should go back to pranking and think of all your ninja skills or fights or whatever as pranks."

"Really? You think so?" Naruto asked looking hopeful. "You don't think it would be too...childish?"

"No," Sasuke grunted. "If you go about it the right way, Dobe."

"Well, I will go about it the right way! Teme."

"We'll work on it," Suzue promised with a smile. "Now...what needs to be picked?"

* * *

Several arguments, one dare, and a throwaway comment later lead the genin of team seven to not have lunch at Ichiruki. Instead, they ended up at Suzue's place on her 'balcony' where they were grilling various vegetables from Naruto's garden and a couple of different meats that Suzue had picked up on her grocery run the day before on her tiny grill. The balcony was really more of an oversized window ledge with a small metal railing around it. Its actual purpose in life was for ninja to perch on it when they would rather come in through a window instead of coming in through the door.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Naruto asked as he peered suspiciously at the asparagus she was currently grilling. "I really don't think you can make vegetables taste good at all."

"Everything's better with butter and salt," Suzue countered as she added another coat of her butter garlic mixture to the asparagus. "Garlic helps too."

"Still don't think this is going to work," Naruto huffed.

"You're just too scared to try new things," Sasuke taunted.

"Am not! You'll see!" Naruto snapped back. "Is it done yet?"

"Another minute or so," Suzue answered as she turned the vegetable. "What do you want to grill next anyways?"

"Tomato," Sasuke immediately answered.

"No, let's do one of the meats!" Naruto countered. "No more vegetables."

"I already have some of the meat grilling," Suzue pointed out the small section she had on the grill. She fanned the flames a little with the uchiwa she had for the sole purpose of doing just that.

"You should grill more, though," Naruto whined. "Instead of nasty vegetables."

"I thought you weren't going to say that until you tried Suzue's grilled vegetables?" Sasuke reminded.

"Grr, whatever, Teme!" Naruto snapped, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Plate, they're done," Suzue interrupted as she carefully picked up the vegetables in question. Sasuke held out a plate for her to place them on. Once that was done he held out the plate with the tomatoes on it to her while thrusting the other plate at Naruto. The blond let out a long-suffering groan before taking the plate from Sasuke as Suzue started picking up a tomato slice to place on the grill. Only when she went to put the tomato on she found that someone else had placed some of the eggplants on the grill already.

"Er..." Suzue started, blinking at the grill in surprise.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow then followed her gaze to the grill. "What?"

"Really, my cute little students eating lunch together and didn't bother to invite me?"

Naruto let out a really high pitched scream as he jumped in surprise while Sasuke nearly overturned the plate with the tomatoes on it. Suzue reflexively activated one of her traps before realizing that Kakashi was the one crouched behind them on her balcony. He caught the kunai Suzue's trap had thrown at him while eye-smiling over their reactions to his sudden appearance.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried and Suzue noted that he had managed not to drop the plate with the asparagus on it, or dump said asparagus. "Don't scare us like that!"

"A ninja should always be aware of their surroundings at all times," Kakashi informed them as he made himself comfy. "Make sure not to burn the eggplant, Suzue-chan."

Checking the food which wasn't even close to being done, Suzue turned back to face her sensei with a frown. "It's fine. Is there a reason you're here?"

"Mah, I'm just a little sad that my little students didn't even think to invite their poor old sensei to have lunch with them," Kakashi mocked whined at them.

"Yeah, right," Sasuke huffed as he set the tomatoes back down. "You just wanted an excuse to mess with us."

"So mean," Kakashi sighed.

"You're the mean one!" Naruto countered pointing a finger at the adult. "Scaring us like that."

"...Sorry, we didn't invite you, Sensei," Suzue offered, feeling slightly guilty about 'hurting' Kakashi's feelings. He probably didn't care and she knew that but...it didn't stop the guilt trip he was encouraging. "We didn't realize you would want to hang out with us too."

"Well, if there's free food," Kakashi hinted, his eye-smile back.

"You're just trying to mooch off Suzue-chan and me!" Naruto revealed in disgust.

"And now why would you think that?" Kakashi hummed.

"Because you're notorious for skipping out on bills when in a group," Suzue answered as she turned back to make sure his eggplant didn't burn. Maybe she'll leave it on there for just a touch too long...

"I've never done that to you," Kakashi countered.

"Yes you have," Sasuke shot down.

"I'm actually here to check up on you all to see if you needed any help with your reports," Kakashi announced ignoring Sasuke's comeback.

"I just need to look it over one more time to make sure I didn't forget anything," Suzue offered as she flipped the currently grilling vegetable. "So I don't need help unless you want to make sure it's all correct before I turn it in."

"I can take a look at it when you're done if you want then," Kakashi said before turning to the boys.

"Finished mine last night," Sasuke huffed as he glared at the eggplants that had stolen his tomatoes' spot.

"Er..." Naruto laughed sheepishly. "I'll start it after lunch?"

"Hmm, I figured at least one of you would forget," Kakashi sighed.

"I didn't forget it!" Naruto protested. "I just...had other things to do."

"You forgot," Sasuke snorted.

"Did not!"

"We'll help you with your report if you want," Suzue offered as she fanned the flames again and tried to decide if she needed to add some more wood chips or not.

"You're so awesome, Suzue-chan," Naruto praised while making an aborted movement to hug her. He realized he was still holding the plate with the asparagus he was supposed to be trying. Naruto made a face at the vegetables.

"Eat it, Dobe," Sasuke challenged. "Or are you too scared?"

"Not scared!" Naruto snapped then went back to staring at the food. He tentatively picked one up with his set of chopsticks. Making one last face at it, he proceeded to stuff it in his mouth. The blond squeezed his eyes shut and chewed like his life depended on it. Suzue could tell the moment he actually tasted what he was eating because his eyes blinked open and he slowed down in chewing. A few seconds he swallowed and eyed the rest of the vegetables in thought.

"So?" Suzue prompted as she removed the eggplant onto a plate Kakashi was holding out to her. Then blinked in surprised as she realized it was one of her plates she hadn't brought out to the balcony.

"It...wasn't bad," Naruto reluctantly admitted. "Better than raw vegetables."

"See, Dobe, vegetables can taste good," Sasuke smirked as he held out the plate of tomatoes to be grilled.

"Fine, they can," Naruto huffed, offended. "But only if Suzue-chan makes them!"

"Do you want to eat more of those or try some of the other vegetables?" Suzue asked as she coated the tomatoes. "Kakashi-sensei has the eggplants."

"Which was delicious, Suzue-chan!" Kakashi announced from behind them drawing the genin's attention. "Thank you for the meal."

"...Did you just eat all the eggplant we had?" Suzue asked as she eyed the clean plate she had just put the eggplant on. Now that she was looking, all the meat that had been cooked already was gone as well.

"Well, it seems like you three are good on your reports. So I'll see you all in the morning to give a final look and show you how to turn them in!" Kakashi informed them before disappearing from view.

"Did he really come here to check up on us or just eat the food?" Sasuke asked.

"Food. He totally just came here for the food," Suzue answered as she put more meat on the grill. He had even taken the nearly finished cooking pieces as well.

"Aw man!" Naruto cried out. "We just totally missed the perfect opportunity to see under Kakashi-sensei's mask!"

The blonde's other two teammates cursed as they realized that they had indeed, missed a perfect opportunity.

"Well...at least we now know Kakashi-sensei likes eggplant," Suzue noted as she flipped the tomatoes. "Maybe we can use that in the future."

"Dobe, grow more eggplant so we can bribe Kakashi," Sasuke ordered.

"Don't tell me what to do, Teme!"

* * *

"Mah, are you sure you're cutting back on your training, Suzue-chan? Because I still can't do as much as you," Naruto whined as he collapsed to the ground.

"Dobe, you're supposed to work up to Suzue's level. Not start there," Sasuke panted as he went through a couple of stretches.

"Hey! Just because you don't want to get as strong as Suzue-chan doesn't mean that I don't want too!" Naruto threw back.

"That wasn't what I said!" Sasuke snapped back at the other boy.

"Ah...um...you guys," Suzue struggled to interrupt feeling anxious that she was the one they were arguing about. Her voice stopped them from continuing the argument and they both turned to face her. "...Naruto-kun you should be doing your cool down stretches, not laying there. You'll get muscle cramps."

"Erg," Naruto groaned but got up and started doing them with his teammates.

"...And Sasuke's right, you shouldn't be trying to keep up with me yet," Suzue added in a rush. Apparently too fast as Naruto just blinked at her uncomprehendingly.

"She said I was right," Sasuke informed Naruto who turned and glared at him.

"She said way more than that!" Naruto countered before turning back to Suzue. "Right, Suzue-chan? You weren't agreeing with Teme?"

"Ah..." was all Suzue managed to get out as she realized that she was placed in a position of choosing between her two teammates. Feeling sick to her stomach, Suzue looked down to the ground as she started fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Suzue-chan said that you are not at her level yet Naruto-kun and that you shouldn't be trying to keep up with her yet," Kakashi's voice interrupted them. "So yes she was agreeing with Sasuke-kun."

"You're late!" Naruto shouted as he pointed at Kakashi who had just appeared.

"Mah, sorry about that," Kakashi waved off. "But today you could say...I was trapped in a labyrinth of love."

"Lair!" Naruto declared as Suzue looked up in disbelief at what Kakashi had said and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You have a girlfriend?!"

"No, and no boyfriend either," Kakashi eye-smiled at them. Suzue flushed and shrink a little into herself at her outburst.

"Lame, shouldn't you have one since you're super old?" Naruto asked as he threw his hands behind his head.

Sasuke leaned over to Suzue and asked in a whisper, "Do you know if one of his books came out today? Or yesterday?"

"...No, don't know," Suzue whispered back as Kakashi and Naruto got into a minor agreement over just how old the silver-haired man really was. "But it's probably something we should start looking into."

Sasuke nodded his agreement and focused back onto the other half of their team.

"Now that I have everyone's attention," Kakashi started as soon as Sasuke and Suzue were focused back on him. Suzue felt herself flush as she realized that Kakashi had probably just heard the whispered exchange. "For doing such a wonderful job at last week's D-Rank mission, we now have another C-Rank mission."

"Awesome! What is it?! What is it?!" Naruto demanded as he bounced around Kakashi. "Are we going to rescue a princess? Save a village? What?!"

"It's a search and rescue mission," Kakashi answered and continued before Naruto could start again, "And no, it is not for a princess."

"Then what are we searching and rescuing?" Sasuke asked sounding bored.

"This man, Genmai of Inaho Village," Kakashi informed them as he handed Sasuke a picture. Suzue and Naruto peered over his shoulder to look at the family picture of a husband, wife, and child.

"So we're looking for the man?" Suzue asked frowning as she pulled away from Sasuke.

"Yep, he disappeared a couple of days ago into the hills. He does go up there to collect herbs but he's never gone longer than a day according to his wife who filed the report. So far a village search hasn't come up with anything so, they asked us to go looking," Kakashi explained.

"Why our team, though? None of us specializes in tracking or finding people?" Suzue questioned. "We're a combat team."

"It's good to be well-rounded and it's a lower ranking mission that nearly anyone can do," Kakashi shrugged. "And you never know when you'll need to find someone. It's a good skill to have, even if you're not going to specialize in it."

"I guess..." Suzue acknowledged.

"Besides I'm sure you can find him no problem Suzue-chan!" Naruto boasted. "I mean with you're feeling metal thingy."

"Dobe, that's only if this guy even has any metal on him. He's a civilian," Sasuke countered.

"So," Naruto pouted. "I'm sure Suzue-chan can still find him."

"...Can you two stop arguing about me?" Suzue muttered making the two boys look over at her.

"What?" Naruto blinked as Sasuke made a grunt.

"Stop fighting with Sasuke-kun over who gets to marry Suzue-chan," Kakashi answered with an eye-smile. All three genin made horrified croaking noises at the idea.

"D-don't even joke about that Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, his face bright red, at the adult who just laughed at them.

"Moving on," Kakashi chuckled. "You three have twenty minutes to pack an overnight bag and meet me at the gate. We'll be leaving then. We should make it to Inaho Village early afternoon so we can start our search."

"Yes, Sensei," all three of acknowledged before Kakashi disappeared.

"Think he's going to be late again?" Naruto grumbled.

"Probably," Suzue huffed before the three of them went to get their packs for the mission.

* * *

"We'll make this our reconnaissance point," Kakashi announced after they entered the forest where Genmai had disappeared. He had already gone over what they were supposed to do and proper searching procedures as they were traveling. "We'll be meeting up here at sunset whether we've found him or not."

"Yes, Sensei," the three of the chorused.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "We'll get this done so fast it will make heads spin!"

"No, wait, you three stay here," Kakashi suddenly ordered making all three of them blink as he launched himself into the tree branches and vanished from view.

"What?! I thought we had to find the guy!" Naruto protested.

"Suzue, do you sense anything?" Sasuke asked.

"No, just Kakashi-sensei heading...towards...some...thing," Suzue trailed off before spinning to another direction and pulling out two kunai. "Incoming! Three I think!"

"Shinobi?" Sasuke asked as he and Naruto also took defensive stances.

"Yes, they're moving too quickly to be civilians. But...they don't have hitai-ate...I think. At least none of them wear one on their forehead it seems," Suzue reported.

"Missing-nin?" Sasuke suggested.

"Again?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. Possibly?" Suzue shrugged. Then her eyes flicked up to the tree branch above them to see three shinobi standing there smirking down at them.

"Expecting us? Guess you three really are with the Kakashi of the Sharingan," the middle one taunted as the two flanking him glowered at the three of them.

"What's it to you if we are?" Sasuke asked taking their role of leader in the group.

"Well," the man drawled. "We were wondering if you'd like to play."

With a grin from the leader, the three adults attacked. Suzue threw both her kunai at the group, which all three dodged easily as the lavender-haired girl dug out a string of shuriken. She managed to swing the string of two dozen shuriken up and around before the leader of the enemy ninja attacked her. He wasn't expecting the shuriken to go flying off the ninja wire so Suzue got a couple of hits on him and the other two before his claw-like nails raked across her cheek.

The leader cursed and jumped back to put space between them and Suzue took the moment to check where all the metal was. That was all the time she got as the man immediately went back on the attack. He was good. Really good at taijutsu to the point where Suzue was barely able to keep him from overpowering her. It was probably a good thing that her fighting style relied more on reacting than thinking.

Suzue discovered that even though her opponent was better than her in a one-on-one taijutsu match, he wasn't very aware of his surroundings. She found that out when she started Pulling on the shuriken she had scattered earlier. He noticed them too late and most of them hit, digging into his back. He let out a string of curses disengaging from hand-to-hand to try and rip out the shuriken from his back.

Taking the chance of to put distance between them, Suzue took a moment to check on her teammates. It seemed that the cursing her opponent had done had led the other two to disengage from her teammates to check on him.

"Aren't you done yet?" the other male enemy called to the leader.

"No," the leader growled as he pulled the last shuriken from his back. "Seems she had a bit more fight in her than we expected."

"Should we change it up then?" the woman asked shifting her stance and adjusting her grip on her kusarigama.

"Sure, why not?" the leader grinned as he rolled his shoulders. "Seems like Plan A isn't working anyways."

That was the only warning they got before the leader of the opposing team attacked Sasuke and the female attacked her. Except, she attacked Suzue with her kusarigama. Not even bothering to move from her spot, the lavender-haired girl Pushed on the scythe part of the kusarigama and sent it flying back at its wielder.

The woman was caught off guard by her weapon not acting the way it was supposed to be. It landed a hit on her side making her cry out. Suzue Pulled the kusarigama out of the lose grip of her opponent and caught it as it came flying over to her.

"Hey!"

Naruto's shout alerted Suzue to his opponent leaving him to attack her. He wielded two large Fuma Shuriken and all Suzue had to do was Push on them and they went flying away from her. Naruto let out a war cry as he attacked the man from behind. The Push on his weapons led to the older man to being off balance so he couldn't do anything as Naruto hit him on the back of the head knocking him out.

"Go help Sasuke! I'll tie them up," Suzue ordered Naruto who flashed her a grin and went to attack the leader.

Suzue coiled the kusarigama around her arm before pulling out a coin from one of her pockets and Pushed it at the woman's head with enough force to knock her out. Once Suzue was sure she wasn't going to move to attack her or anything like that, she pulled out her spool of ninja wire to tie both of them up. Once done she turned her attention to the fight the boys were in.

Ninja wire was the first thing Suzue noticed. It was nearly everywhere; tangled among the trees. Following its path, the lavender-haired girl quickly figured out her teammates' plan. Jumping up into the trees, the girl stalked among the branches closer to the fight to see how the boys were doing and figure out where she could join in without messing up their plan.

For all that their opponent was stronger in taijutsu and apparently ninjutsu he used a Suiton jutsu to attack the boys, he wasn't very observant. He had yet to notice her sitting among the branches over the fight and it seemed that he hadn't realized that the boys weren't just throwing kunai at him randomly through the haze of several smoke bombs.

Team Seven had practiced these types of maneuvers before in training exercises after Sasuke got the bright idea of her using ninja wire in conjunction with her genkai kekkei. So even Naruto was familiar enough with these types of traps that Sasuke wasn't telling him where to throw the kunai to set the trap. Suzue just didn't know if she should join in on the trap making or just attack to be a distraction.

Biting her lip in indecision, Suzue glanced around the area and thought that being a distraction might be better than adding to the trap. Glancing back at the scattered shuriken she had thrown earlier, the girl moved to a different location and Pulled all of them back to her. She quickly strung them back on a string of ninja wire and moved again.

Suzue scattered some of them, moving to different locations before actually throwing anything at the man. He managed to dodge the ones she threw but didn't notice the ones she Pulled towards herself with him in the pathway. They hit his arm causing him to curse as he ripped them out.

"Bitch!" He growled at her turning to where she had been. "If you were a bit older I think I would keep you just to have some fun!"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Naruto shouted back in offensive as Suzue made a face at the threat throwing and Pulling another set of shuriken.

"Don't worry about your little girlfriend," the man taunted. "She's too flat chested and young for my taste. Then again, I know some who would like that."

"You freak!" Naruto shouted as Sasuke threw the last of the kunai needed to finish the trap.

"It's game over for you anyways," Sasuke growled as he pulled on the ninja wire in his hand to trigger the trap.

"Wha?" the man started only to be tangled up in ninja wire. "You set me up!"

"Suzue!" Sasuke called and the girl appeared behind him with two kunai in each hand. She thrust the weapons into the shoulder joint disabling the use of his arms before crouching down while pulling another kunai out to cut the Achilles tendons leaving the man unable to fight anymore. She then tied him up in the ninja wire wrapped around him as Sasuke let his grip lax.

"This isn't over!" the man snarled at them from his forced kneeling position.

"Seems like it to me," Naruto gloated with a grin. Sasuke just smirked at the man as Suzue joined her teammates in front of him. Naruto then punched the guy in the face. "That was for Suzue-chan, creep!"

"Just you wa-" the man started only to suddenly stop as his eyes grew wide with surprise. "You..."

A cough rattled through his body and all of team seven jerked back as blood was hacked up. Suzue took another step back as the man's body started twisting and jerking into unnatural positions.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked as he frowned in confusion.

"Ghost!" Naruto screamed taking several of steps backward and falling on his butt, pointing a shaking finger at the man. "He's being taken over by a ghost!"

"I don't think that's what's happening, Naruto-kun," Suzue threw at the blond as she pulled out a handful of shuriken and took note of where all the other ones were scattered about.

"Hehe, thank you for showing me all that, Sasuke-kun," the man chuckled. Only it was in a voice that was definitely not his. Maybe Naruto was right; he was being possessed by a ghost. Then the man's head jerked up.

Suzue felt her breath hitched as slitted golden eyes stared at them, or rather Sasuke. If it had just been gold-colored eyes, Suzue might not have made the connection, but those gold eyes were outlined with purple. Even after a decade she still remembered Orochimaru's eye markings and those were defiantly the eye markings that Orochimaru had.

Feeling panicky, because she did not remember Orochimaru approaching Sasuke at all before the chunin exams - so what was he doing here? - Suzue Pulled all the weapons from behind the man's body. They all landed with meaty thuds. Orochimaru just glanced at her with a smirk.

"Nice try, little girl," Orochimaru taunted as his chakra filled the body he was puppeting. It was potent enough that Suzue could even feel it. It scraped at her, making her feel like she was facing down a wild animal that didn't have a fear of humans. One that was more interested in whether or not you were food than any belief that you could actually harm it.

"Guys, we should run, now!" Naruto shouted at them. "It's going to kill us!"

"Sasuke," Suzue choked out as she took a step closer to him instead of back like she wanted to. The body then started breaking out of the ninja wire she had tied it up with. Chunks of flesh were shaved off as the arms and legs were pulled from the wire. Then it stood up with what Suzue could only guess was just the chakra that now surrounded it because she was pretty sure you were not supposed to be able to stand with cut Achilles tendons.

"How do you know me? What do you want?" Sasuke demanded to the body that was now standing before them.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screeched in a way to high pitched voice sounding as panicked as Suzue felt. The girl had the sudden random thought to ask her blond teammate just why he was so scared of ghost.

"I'd like to commend you for defeating a stronger foe," Orochimaru chuckled. "But if you need friends to help you do so...you'll never be able to beat Itachi."

"Shut up!" Suzue shouted in a pitch that was much higher than normal at Sasuke's flinch. "What would you know?!"

"More than you little girl," Orochimaru smirked at her. "You who can't do any more than stand there trembling in fear."

Suzue's answer to that was throwing the weapons in her hands at his head, Pushing on them with enough force that they went right through the body's head. Apparently, headshots did not kill this zombie. Knowing that at some point in the future there was going to be an army of zombies, Suzue was now terrified of the idea behind edo tensei. The reincarnated girl wondered if she could kill Kabuto during the chunin exams so that the zombie army never came to be. That sounded like a really good idea at the moment.

"I suppose you could have done worst than picking a Hagiwara as a...comrade," Orochimaru smirked despite missing half of the face and a least of a quarter of the head. "Still, Itachi is much stronger than you. Much stronger than you'll ever be at this point."

"We beat you!" Sasuke snapped, recovering from his surprise at the mention of Itachi. "So you don't know what you're talking about!"

"So naïve," Orochimaru sighed in mocked sadness. "Just how can you be content with this?"

"Whatever," Sasuke sneered at him. "I'll take my revenge one way or another."

"We'll see about that," Orochimaru laughed.

"Who are you?!" Sasuke asked again.

"We'll meet again, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru purred then his chakra cut out.

"Get away before the ghost tries to get you!" Naruto shouted and there was a tug on the back of Suzue's dress. A glance behind her revealed that Naruto had created two shadow clones to grab her and Sasuke. Just in time too, as the body exploded. Suzue let herself collapse to the ground instead of trying to stand on her legs. She could already tell her body was shaking too badly to do much at the moment.

"We should get out of here right now," Naruto told them. "Who know what that ghost is going to do. What if it takes over one of us?!"

"I...I don't...don't think that was a ghost," Suzue stammered at Naruto. "I think...it was something...like Ino's family jutsu."

"Huh? Ino can do something like that?" Naruto asked blinking.

"Her family might...I don't know enough about her clan techniques to know more," Suzue rambled as she tried to stop shaking. "Sasuke? Are...are you alright?"

"Fine," Sasuke grunted. "Can you tell where Kakashi is?"

Suzue took a moment to process all the metal around her. Not hard as they were in a middle of a forest that wasn't a training ground. She shook her head. "No, he must be outside my range..."

"The other two are knocked out right?" Sasuke asked and Suzue nodded. "Then I think we should go look for Kakashi. We don't know if there's any more out there who will attack us."

"I'm...down for that," Suzue agreed. "Just need to get up."

"I'll help!" the Naruto closes to her offered. Suzue noted that it was a clone as he reached down. He helped her up and Suzue's world swam. Next thing she knew, she was bent over throwing up.

"Suzue!" several cries called out and she was swarmed by all the Naruto's.

"Dobe, drop your jutsu and give her some air," Sasuke ordered.

"Teme!" Naruto threw back but did follow the order.

"In, out, just breath," Sasuke was saying to her and she followed along for a minute before trying to stand back up. "Better?"

"Yeah, thanks," Suzue nodded as she made a face at the taste in her mouth. The shaking was nearly gone now and she took out her canteen to dribble some water into her mouth. She swished it around before spitting it back onto the ground.

"...I didn't know girls could spit," Naruto commented eyeing the ground where she had done so.

Suzue blinked at him. "It's generally considered rude to spit...but everyone can, I think."

"Oh, so girls don't normally do so because they want to seem like ladies, right? And ladies aren't rude!" Naruto theorized.

"...Yeah, that actually sounds right," Suzue snorted causing her teammate to beam.

"If you can move now, we should go," Sasuke interrupted.

"Okay," Suzue agreed and moved to start heading back to the reconnaissance point when Kakashi suddenly appeared in her sensing range. Or at least, she assumed it was Kakashi based off the way the metal was positioned. "I can sense Kakashi-sensei again."

"Is he heading this way?" Sasuke asked as he stopped walking.

"Um..." Suzue hedged as she tried to figure out what Kakashi was doing. A moment later and, "Yes, he is coming this way."

"Great!" Naruto grinned punching the air before doing a one-eighty mood swing and looked wearily around, "What if he got taken by the ghost?"

Suzue closed her eyes and sighed as Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"We'll just have to find out when he gets here," Suzue answered instead of arguing the point anymore.

"But...should we prepare or something?! I don't want to be taken over by a ghost!" Naruto wailed.

"Do you know how to prepare for a ghost, Dobe?" Sasuke taunted.

"Wards!"

"Do you know any wards?" Sasuke continued.

"Er...no..." Naruto admitted, eyes going wide. He then clutched his head and cried to the world at large, "We're doomed!"

"Who's doomed?" Kakashi asked as he appeared next to them making Naruto screech.

"Ghost-sensei!"

"Ghost?" Kakashi asked with a blink.

"Are you being possessed by a ghost?" Suzue asked tired of Naruto dramatics already.

"...No?"

"That's what a ghost would say to trick us!" Naruto countered, pointing a finger at Kakashi.

"Dobe, does he look like that guy did?" Sasuke asked in an annoyed tone pointing to the where the body had been before it had blown up.

"...Before or after Suzue-chan put holes in his head?" Naruto asked.

"You know what," Kakashi interrupted before Sasuke could get a word out. "How about you guys report to me what happen to you three while I was busy rescuing our client."

"But how do we know if sensei is a ghost or not?" Naruto whined.

"Are you currently terrified of being around Sensei?" Suzue asked him.

Naruto paused and thought about that then shook his head, "No."

"Then Kakashi-sensei isn't being possessed by a ghost," Suzue concluded.

"Really? That simple?" Naruto asked tilting his head as he processed that.

"Yes, that simple. You were terrified of the other guy right?"

"Er...maybe not terrified," Naruto hedged.

"You were shrieking in terror," Sasuke threw out.

"Yeah, well, ghost are terrifying!"

"Well, now that we've decided that I'm not being possessed by a ghost," Kakashi interrupted before the boys really got going. "Tell me what happened here. Now."

* * *

Author Note: The chapter...once again late...I'm sorry everyone who was waiting for this...But I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! The mission in the chapter is based off the Naruto OVA The Cross Roads. I do read Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen and one of the biggest things I'm impressed with is how she incorporates all the filler episodes, OVAs, and movies into her story. That being said, I won't be doing every filler episode or OVA as I don't have enough patience to watch the whole series and I'm more familiar with the manga to begin with. But if you want a specific anime episode feel free to suggest one, it'll either end up in the main story or in a side story I'll be posting at some point for this story...

I'm not going to set a date for the next update as real life is getting crazy with the holidays coming...But I will be posting the next chapter before the end of the year. Possibly two chapters. Actual date updates will start up again after the new year.

Once again, you can find me on tumblr under the name lady-hachimitsu and thank you everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story! Till next time.


	7. Chapter 7 - Aftermath

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine…

Warnings: Bad moods, anxiety, long talks/discussions, crying, overprotective brothers, Sasuke has feelings, Orochimaru is still a ghost, Naruto's odd view of the world

Notes: I'm still alive...barely….have a chapter….

Chapter Seven - Aftermath

* * *

"You have an idea of who is behind this?" Sarutobi asked once Kakashi's three genin had left the office. Kakashi let out a put-upon sigh at the whole mess this one mission had revealed. Of course, his team would end up being one of the ones with interesting missions. He had been hoping the Wave Mission had been a fluke.

"An idea that I haven't shared with them yet. Though I wouldn't be surprised if Suzue-chan figured it out. She's rather good at putting things together," Kakashi shrugged, hedging a bit.

"So you're saying you're not a hundred percent sure," Sarutobi hummed as he took a drag on his pipe. "And that I won't like the answer."

"The face of the man that was possessed changed according to Suzue-chan and Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun was panicking too much over the 'ghost' to notice," Kakashi continued as he shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched just a bit more. "Based on what they described, it sounded as if the possessor was Orochimaru."

Sarutobi didn't say anything for a long moment and Kakashi let him have his moment. The silver haired man knew his Hokage wouldn't want to acknowledge that his most wayward student may finally be making a play at Konoha. "This...is most troubling."

"Even more so when you realize that this mission was most likely a setup to put Orochimaru's target out in the open."

"...Will you take if from the top? When was it that you first started to realize that something might be amiss?" Sarutobi requested, eyes serious as he set down his pipe to give Kakashi his full attention.

"The mission itself wasn't an unusual request. We get these missions all the time. So nothing rang any bells there," Kakashi started settling into a more comfortable standing position. "But Suzue-chan questioned it once I informed them of the mission itself."

"She did? What about it set her off?"

"This team is a full assault or combat team, not a tracking team. She was confused on why Team Seven would be given this type of mission. None of them have much skill in tracking or even the promise of being great at it."

"Still not that odd to have genin take on missions that don't cater to their skills. It's so they can get a feel for what other missions are about and to even see if there might be an interest in it. And I believe Suzue-chan's bloodline limit may give her a bit of tracking skill. Her uncle is proof of it if nothing else."

"It does but Suzue-chan's abilities in it are more suited for tracking down another ninja, not civilians that may or may not have enough metal on them for her to pick up. His level of sensing metal is much, much higher than what she's shown being able to do. And that's basically what I told them and she accepted it. But...the more I think about it the more...strange it seems that we were given this mission when it would be perfect for Team 8. They are a tracking team."

"Team 8 is currently out on another mission and isn't due back for another two days. This mission was time sensitive since if the missing person in question was still alive, he wouldn't have been for much longer."

"That's what I keep coming back to," Kakashi said, tone serious. "Not odd that my team gets a tracking mission, but for a team that really doesn't have more than the basic skill of tracking, they should not have been given a time sensitive tracking mission. Even with me on the team to make up for it."

Sarutobi frowned as he let Kakashi's words sink in. "In hindsight, I can see that, but if it was just that it could be easily explained away by a new worker still not use to all the in and out of how missions are picked and handed out."

"Which is why I didn't just turn around and tell them to find another team. Besides the fact that my cute little genin would protest over declining a mission," Kakashi waved off before continuing on with his analyst of the mission. "There was nothing suspicious about getting there and we made good time doing so. But the moment we get to the forest and prepare to start our search, I sensed something out of the ordinary that I felt would be too far above my genin's levels to deal with at the moment. But nothing else to make me worry about leaving the three of them by themselves."

"So you left them to stay put and investigate. I believe that's all in proper protocol."

Kakashi nodded. "The oddity turned out to be the very person we were sent to search for being attacked by a feral dog. Upon speaking to the man, he didn't seem to remember anything about the last few days. Then when I went to help him up, me touching him triggered a trap seal. Within my ability to break, but not right away. That was the final piece for me that something more was going on than a simple Search and Rescue Mission. The rest of my analyze is based on what my genin reported after meeting up with them again."

"Continue on."

"The three of them reported being attacked within minutes of me leaving. I was able to determine that it would appear that they were attacked within moments of when I triggered the trap seal. The enemy at first didn't reveal much besides that my genin team was the target they wanted, not some random team they decided to attack. The leader at first attacked Suzue-chan while the other two went after the boys. Suzue-chan theorizes that they were hoping to use her as bait for the boys. More specifically for Sasuke-kun. The leader failed to capture Suzue-chan, underestimating her, thus leading me to believe that even though there were looking for my team specifically they weren't very informed about their skills and talents. Once it was revealed that it would be much harder to take Suzue-chan down than they thought, the leader went straight for Sasuke-kun."

"Based off what I was told of what occurred, I would agree with you," Sarutobi nodded. "Continue."

"Naruto-kun and Suzue-chan easily took care of the other two attacking, Suzue-chan making sure they were secure and Naruto-kun ran off to help Sasuke-kun. Once Suzue-chan was sure they two were secure and not going anywhere, she went to help as well. Between the three of them, they were able to take down the leader. Sasuke-kun reported that the man had made mention of wanting to test his skill set. Again, they reveal their focus being Sasuke-kun. They incapacitated the leader and about to secure him along with the others when the possession jutsu took effect, killing the leader in the process.

"Naruto-kun mistook it for a ghost possession and was panicking so his recount is a little iffy. Suzue-chan admitted that she was greatly unnerved by being able to feel the chakra that started pouring off the now corpse. Sasuke-kun revealed that it spooked him as well but those two were able to work around their fears and attempted to interrogate this person. Both of them confirmed that this person's attention was solely on Sasuke-kun and only turned to Suzue-chan when she blew a hole through the corpse's head. They felt that this person was trying to recruit Sasuke-kun. Again this only lasted till just a few moment before I reached my team again. By the time I got back, the dust had all settled and we were left with our missing person who didn't remember anything and three corpses that didn't reveal much of anything. One of which came about by unknown means, as the genin informed me that the two of the missing-nin were still alive. I was able to determine that one of them had bled out while my genin were dealing with the leader. Even looking at their bingo book pages just revealed that they were missing-nin from Mist and had rather low bounties on their head."

Picking up his pipe again, Sarutobi pulled open a drawer to his desk to take out a tin of tobacco. Stuffing his pipe and lighting it with a snap of his fingers in a show of great chakra control. He took a couple of puffs before letting out a long sigh.

"This is most troubling indeed. I believe you are right to see this whole mission as a setup," Sarutobi admitted. Kakashi remained silence as his Hokage collected his thoughts. "What's more troubling is that we may very well have a traitor in our mission office. There is too much coincidence for there not to be. Masuyo-san is going to be pissed."

Kakashi was very careful not to wince as he pictured the reaction the red-haired Mission Office Head was likely to have to this information. He really hoped that he was not going to be the one to inform her that she had a traitor among her staff.

"I'm sure Masuyo-san will have the traitor flushed out soon enough," Kakashi agreed as he pushed the thought of terrified Mission Desk Nin running around the Hokage Tower, like mice from a cat. "In the meantime though..."

"Team Seven is to stay in the village. No more C-Rank Mission outside until we find the leak. Also no training trips outside either," Sarutobi added when Kakashi opened his mouth.

Kakashi closed his mouth with a sigh. As good as Masuyo would be at flushing out a traitor she wouldn't get it done by the time the Chunin Exams came around. "I was hoping to have my team out of the village while the Chunin Exams were happening. Otherwise, I'm sure they would just complain about not being in them."

"I know that is usually what happens to Rookie Genin when we host the exams but it will be easier to protect Sasuke-kun from inside the village than it would be having him out of the village when we can't guarantee that his missions haven't been compromised."

"I know," Kakashi sulked as he mentally prepared himself for whining children. At least Suzue-chan probably wouldn't whine at him.

"...You could enter them."

"Rookie Genin? They have barely been Genin for three months by the time the Exams start. And if I enter my team, the other two teams from their class would have to enter. They contain clan heirs and we can't have them being shown up by my motley team."

"I'm aware of that but as you pointed out, they are clan heirs or seconds. Their training has been more than others their age and your team has proven to have chunin level skills out on the field. It would be a good way to keep them in the village as well."

"I suppose," Kakashi muttered, not too happy about this turn of events. He had been hoping to train them up a bit more before throwing them in the Exams. Sure they had the skills but none of them really had the experience or mindset for chunin.

He had also been hoping to keep the team for longer than a few months.

"It could be a good learning experience for them at the very less I guess," Kakashi admitted after a brief sulk.

"It would also keep them from getting too bored while stuck in the village."

"I'll think about it," Kakashi grumbled. He guessed it would keep him from being whined at.

Kakashi found that he would rather be whined at and keep his cute little students than only have them for a few more months without the whining. Why did he have to get so attached to them?

* * *

"Hey, Suzue!" Sasuke called making said girl pause and turn to face him.

The dark haired boy watched as she rubbed one eye and asked, "What is it?"

"Do you mind if we come over?" Sasuke asked making the struggling Naruto he had wrestled into a headlock pause in his attempts to escape.

"...It's kinda late," Suzue noted with a glance at the star-dotted sky. "We can hang out tomorrow."

"We can do lunch again!" Naruto crowed with a large grin. "Though with fewer vegetables."

"Dobe, you need to eat more," Sasuke scowled before shaking his head and turning back to Suzue as Naruto shouted something about vegetables were not something to eat more of. "...I wanted to discuss the mission with you."

"You...do?" Suzue blinked looking surprised. Sasuke frowned at that but held firm. He was ignoring the small amount of guilt of intruding on his female teammate when it was apparent she was tired. But he didn't want to wait to discuss the mission because it bothered him. And he wanted someone to talk to about it. Suzue was a better choice than Naruto or even Kakashi. (Kakashi was an adult there for was prone to dismissing things.)

"Yes, and I know it's late so it would be improper for it to just be us at your place so I'm dragging the Dobe with me," Sasuke said in a rush that took a moment for Suzue to take in and understand.

"Stop calling me that!" Naruto shouted at the other boy as he renewed his struggles to break free. Sasuke took the moment to release the idiot when he wasn't properly balanced so he crashed the ground with a groan.

"...You don't have to drag Naruto-kun along," Suzue shrugged, fingers fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "I'm sure Naruto-kun would come along if you just ask."

"Yeah, Teme, you just had to ask," Naruto drawled as he picked himself off the ground. "I'm totally down with hanging out with Suzue-chan anytime! Though why don't you want to alone with her at her place?"

"Because people are stupid," Sasuke snapped, his ears turning faintly pink. The last thing he need was his Fanclub finding out he was at a girl's house alone after dark. Not to mention whatever a busy-body adult who happened to see would say. At least if he and Naruto went people would write it off as teammates hanging out than trying to make it out like a date or something.

"...People would think were dating, or something dumb like that," Suzue explained to the socially stunted blond.

"Oh...then I shouldn't be at your place alone either," Naruto concluded.

"...Probably for the best," Suzue sighed, running a hand through her hair and grimacing as she dislodged her bow that held her hair back.

"So, do you mind?" Sasuke pressed when Suzue still didn't answer. He was really hoping she would say yes.

Sasuke watched as she ducked her head to hide her expression. He ignored the guilt as he realized she probably didn't want them to come over but was too nice to outright say no. The dark haired boy was surprised when she let out a sigh and said, "Fine...I'll even make you two dinner. We can have a sleepover."

"A sleepover? Awesome!" Naruto cheered throwing a punch towards the sky.

"...Thanks," Sasuke muttered turning his face away from his teammates as he tried to get his various emotions under control. Guilt, relief, affection. It was doing more than he had been expecting. She didn't have to make them dinner.

"Do I need to bring anything? Are we going to play games? What's a sleepover like?" Naruto rapid fire bouncing around.

"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke snapped, grabbing at the back of his jacket to get him to stop moving. He hoped Suzue wasn't regretting agreeing to this. "Suzue's just letting us stay the night because it's late."

"Whatever, Teme," Naruto growled back crossing his arms, pouting.

"Let's go, I need to start dinner if we want to eat," Suzue beckoned as she started heading towards her apartment. The boys fell into step with her in grumpy silence.

* * *

"What about the mission did you want to talk about that you couldn't wait until tomorrow after we had gotten some sleep?" Suzue moodily asked after all three of them gave thanks for the food she had made for dinner.

Sasuke eyes his teammate wearily wondering if maybe he should have waited until tomorrow. She seemed annoyed with everything at the moment. But he went to answer the question.

"Those missing-nin. Doesn't it seem...odd that they just happened to appear there looking for me?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked as he paused in chewing his food before swallowing and asking, "They were after Sasuke?"

"Were you even paying attention to the fight?" Sasuke snapped. This is why he hadn't wanted to talk about it with Naruto. It was a toss up on whether or not he got what was going on. And even if he got what was going on, most of the time he had his own weird view as to what was going on.

"Yeah, we kicked ass, even the ghost! Sort of," Naruto recounted making Suzue sigh and rub at her forehead.

"They specifically came after us," Suzue said before Sasuke could say anything back at Naruto. "At least that's what it seemed like at first. When they attack, their leader came after me even though Sasuke had presented himself as the leader of our group. That either means they thought I was the biggest threat, or they had something else in mind. Given that my opponent was surprised by my kekkei genkai, it seems that they had something else in mind."

"Like what?" Naruto asked as Suzue paused to take a breath.

"Well, usually on a three-man team with a kunoichi, the kunoichi is the weakest fighter. They are there for support not combat ability. Our team is off because all of us are combat capable," Suzue explained and quickly continued on as Naruto opened his mouth. "They probably thought to take me captive and use me as a bargaining chip. They did say that I was stronger than they thought. Then mentioned scraping plan A."

"Oh," Naruto acknowledged with a nod. "They just didn't know how awesome Suzue-chan is!"

"Something like that," Suzue agreed pausing long enough to take a bit of her dinner. "Their plan B was to have the leader attack Sasuke while the other two kept me and you busy. But again, they were unaware of my kekkei genkai and didn't take it into account. Because they knew so little about me...I highly doubt I was their target, to begin with."

"Huh? What about me? Think I was the target?" Naruto asked.

"No, none of them even glanced at you. They targeted me because they thought I was the easiest to nab then when that failed they moved on to their actual target. Sasuke."

"And that...ghost...he called me by name," Sasuke threw in. And that was bothering him too. That person had called him Sasuke, not Uchiha. Which implied that they had done research on him. The Hokage had informed Sasuke that his given name wasn't being released to anyone outside the village. That there was still an Uchiha inside the village but not what their name was. At least until he became a ninja which had only been a few months ago. Sasuke doubted he had gotten famous enough in that amount of time for outsiders to know his given name.

"Wait...the ghost was after Sasuke!" Naruto cried out pulling Sasuke from his thoughts as the blond turned wide-eyes at his teammates. "What if he comes back? What are we going to do?! He can't have Teme!"

"I don't think the ghost can get Sasuke from inside the village," Suzue said in an effort to keep Naruto from over reacting.

"Wha? Why?" Naruto question looking confused.

"Because it happened on a mission outside the village. The ghost approached Sasuke when we were on a mission," Suzue explained.

"Huh...Hey, Suzue-chan do you know how a ghost could know we were even on that mission?" Naruto asked with a serious frown.

"...What do you mean?" Suzue asked before taking another bite of her dinner.

"Well, we didn't even know we were going on that mission until Kakashi-sensei showed up, right?" Naruto pointed out. "And like it was a last minute mission because we had to go find that guy who was lost. So the mission was time...er...quick?"

"Time sensitive I think is what you're looking for," Suzue offered.

"Yeah! Our mission was time sensitive!" Naruto nodded looking happy. Then went back to frowning, "So how did the ghost know?"

"Seemed the Dobe has a good point," Sasuke grunted as he realized another point that was just wrong with the whole thing. "That was another thing that was bothering me."

"I'm pretty sure Kakashi-sensei already thought of that as he stayed behind to talk to the Hokage instead of walking us out of the tower," Suzue pointed out. "He's probably working on where the leak came from."

"...The more I think about it the more I feel like this whole mission was a setup," Sasuke muttered, playing with his food instead of eating it. "The moment we get there, Kakashi sensed something and left us alone. Then moments later three missing-nin show-up, all of which were chunin level. That seems to scream setup."

"Yeah..."

"Okay, so what? The ghost set the whole thing up? How can a ghost even do that?" Naruto asked, then shivered. "Because that's really scary to think about..."

"I guess that's what I really wanted to talk to you about Suzue," Sasuke said as he turned to his female teammate. "You reacted like you recognized who the...ghost...was."

"Huh? Suzue-chan knows who the ghost is?" Naruto asked peering at her as well.

Sasuke watched as Suzue's face blanked and she got a panicked look in her eyes before they started darting around the room not looking at them. He frowned wondering what it was that she didn't want to tell them. She started to speak only to fall silent before her gaze fixated on something and she blurted out in a rush, "I'm not really sure, it just reminded me of a shinobi from a history book."

"...What?" Sasuke asked confused. Why would she be uncomfortable about telling them she recognized the guy from a history book? Unless he was supposed to be dead, thus supporting Naruto's theory they were attacked by a ghost. He really wished he could come up with a better term for that person who took over that missing-nin than Naruto's ghost.

"Er..." Suzue started again as her cheeks turned red. Sasuke's eyes were drawn to her clan markings on her cheeks as they turned blue from the blush. "History book. I thought the eyes looked like something from a history book I have."

"If he's in a history book..." Naruto started in a thoughtful tone. Then his eyes grew wide with horror, "It really is a ghost because he's dead!"

"Dobe," Sasuke sighed wondering what sort of off the wall thinking Naruto had about history books.

"What?!"

"Not everyone in history books is dead," Suzue told the blond as she got up to grab the book.

"Yeah, they are," Naruto argued. "That's why they're in history."

"No wonder you were deadlast at the Academy," Sasuke taunted as Suzue flipped through the book. Really, the Hokage was in history books and obvious wasn't dead.

"Doesn't matter anyways," Naruto waved off with a superior air about him. "Awesome ninja like me don't need to know history!"

"You do if you want to become Hokage," Suzue threw out as she continued searching through the book. Sasuke got the impression she was only half listening to them.

"What?! No way!" Naruto protested. At both Sasuke and Suzue's nods, he wilted a little. "Fine, I'll just become Hokage and change that!"

"Here!" Suzue exclaimed as she dropped the book on the table in between the two boys. She pointed out a picture of a pale skinned man with long dark hair who looked like he was in his mid-twenties. But what caught Sasuke's attention was the fact that he had the exact same eyes as the ghost after possessing that missing-nin.

"And you remembered this?" Sasuke asked in disbelieve as he pulled the book closer to read the caption under the picture. As he read, he realized that he did know who this man was. One of the Sannin, Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin.

"Well...those are very distinct eyes you have to admit," Suzue defended as Naruto let out a cry at Sasuke taking the book.

"The Sannin? They were the most famous three-man team from Konoha, weren't they? They were the reason we won the Second War, right?" Sasuke questioned to make sure he was remembering correctly as he shoved the book over to Naruto who let out a startled noise, not having expected that.

"That's what we were taught in the Academy. And they weren't the only reason," Suzue shrugged. "There were a lot of other high ranking shinobi as well."

"Do you know what happened to them? I don't remember anything about them from after the Second War," Sasuke admitted. And he didn't remember anything, which bothered him. Why teach about these three and then never mention them again. Even if they all that happened was that they died.

"They're all dead right? Because it's history," Naruto pointed out as he squinted at the pictures.

"They're all still alive from what I know," Suzue sighed. "I'm pretty sure that Jiraiya, the white-haired guy, is still in serves to the village as an active shinobi, but I don't know what he does exactly. Just that's it's outside the village. Tsunade, the woman, is taking...a sabbatical I think is what's listed in her files. Traveling to learn new medical techniques or something like that. Orochimaru, the ghost, betrayed the village and managed to escape being caught. He is now a missing-nin."

"Do you think he was trying to recruit me?" Sasuke frowned as he tried to figure out what a missing-nin would want with him.

"...That's kind of what it sounded like," Suzue shrugged.

"Well, that's stupid. Why would Teme even want to go with some evil ghost who betrayed his own village? Can't trust people like that," Naruto waved off like it wasn't even an issue before asking, "Neh, should we tell the old man that the ghost was Orochimaru?"

"We'll just tell Kakashi-sensei when he checks up on us tomorrow," Suzue answered. "He'll tell the Hokage if they haven't figured it out already."

"...So, what are we going to do if this snake guy comes back?" Naruto asked tilting his head to the side. "Beat him up?"

"...I don't think the three of us could 'beat' him up," Suzue muttered, rubbing a hand over her face and wincing a little when she hit her cuts. "It would probably be better to run as far away as possible to the strongest person around."

"But! But!"

"I think Suzue's right," Sasuke cut in. It pained him to admit but if this man was even a fraction of the level of skill he was said to have in the Second War then... "Even if they are mostly famous for being a team, each of the Sannin are powerful on their own. I'm not sure we're up to that level of skill at the moment."

"Seriously?" Naruto groaned. "Fine, but that just means we have to work even more to get stronger! As quickly as possible so we can kick that ghost snake's ass so he'll leave us alone!"

"That's one idea," Suzue snorted, a faint smile pulling at her lips.

"I hate this," Sasuke grumbled. He already had one person after him, why did he have to gain another one?

"Hate what?" Naruto asked when Sasuke didn't continue right away.

Making a frustrated noise, Sasuke grounded out, "We're probably not going to be getting any more high ranking missions. I doubt they are going to be letting us out of the village until they're sure that not every mission we leave for isn't going to be a trap."

"No way! I refuse! I'll talk to the old man and get him to give us better missions! I don't want to do anymore D-Ranks!" Naruto wailed.

"I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will come up with something to keep us busy," Suzue threw in though she didn't look too happy about the situation either.

"What do you think Kakashi-sensei will come with? Probably something stupid," Naruto grumbled. Sasuke just grunted in agreement because he could totally see Kakashi just making them do D-Rank Missions just to annoy them. "What do you think Suzue-chan?"

Sasuke looked over at his female teammate when she didn't answer. He blinked when he noticed that her eyes had gained a far away look that meant she wasn't paying any attention to what was going on around her as she thought about something. It was something he had noticed she would do on occasion when they were on the Wave Mission.

"Suzue-chan? Earth to Suzue-chan!" Naruto called getting right in her face when she didn't answer him.

The girl started and jerked back when her eyes focused on Naruto who was right in front of her face. Sasuke jumped up from his chair as he watched Suzue's chair tip backward. She grabbed at the table as her chair started tipping over only it didn't help. Sasuke winced as he heard the crash of her chair hitting the ground as he rounded the table. Suzue was blinking up at her ceiling and didn't look amused.

"Dobe!" Sasuke snapped because it was all his fault.

"I'm sorry Suzue-chan! I didn't mean to scare you!" Naruto nearly sobbed as crouched down in an effort to help. "Are you alright? I'll help you up! I'm so sorry."

"...Fine," Suzue waved off as she disentangled herself from the chair. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sasuke asked as Naruto fluttered around trying to find a way to help her.

She glanced at her dark-haired teammate before answering, "Tired. I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

"Hehe, it is kinda late, isn't it?" Naruto laughed awkwardly.

"You two can get ready for bed and I'll clean up dinner," Suzue waved off. "Unless there was more you wanted to talk about?"

"No, we've covered everything, I think," Sasuke answered deciding that if he wanted to discuss it again he could in the morning or some other later time. "And we can clean up dinner."

"I would rather do it myself," Suzue muttered as she picked up the dishes.

"The Dobe can go get ready," Sasuke offered, implying that he'll help her as Naruto changed.

"What if I want to help Suzue-chan?" Naruto challenged.

"Too late, I already offered," Sasuke countered barely biting back the, 'you've already helped enough' he wanted to throw at the blond.

"Just go change, Naruto-kun," Suzue cut in before the other boy could respond.

"...Fine," Naruto huffed. "Though I'm not sure how much help Teme will be of help. After all, he can't mend clothes."

"You probably don't even have dishes since all you eat is ramen," Sasuke threw back as the tips of his ears turned red. So what if he couldn't mend clothes and the Dobe could? It wasn't like the blond could do much else. "So you couldn't be too much help anyways."

"Enough, it's way too late for me to deal with you two fighting," Suzue snapped startling both boys.

"Ah, okay, Suzue-chan," Naruto said as he took a step away from her. "I'll just go change then."

Naruto fled to the bathroom. A moment later he ran back out, grabbed his pack, then disappeared back into the bathroom. Sasuke eyed his female teammate wearily. Had she ever snapped at them? There was that time Naruto had given her a scare and she had gotten a bit snappy.

"Are you feeling okay? You're not getting sick are you?" Sasuke asked after a moment as Suzue started filling her sink with water. What if she was on that female period thing? Didn't girls get really moody when they had that thing? But didn't konichi some sort of pill they took to deal with that? He couldn't remember because he hadn't paid that much attention to that part of the lesson figuring he wouldn't have to deal with it.

"...Sorry for snapping at you both," Suzue mumbled pulling him from his thoughts to find that she wasn't looking at him. "It's not much of an excuse but I'm tired and just want to go to bed."

Sasuke just grunted and grabbed a towel so he could dry the dishes. He wondered if she was still having nightmares. Maybe that was the reason for her mood. She had told him that the nightmares she had been having ever since that fight on the bridge weren't anything to do with what had happened. But she also hadn't started having nightmares until that fight. No matter that she claimed to have this nightmare since she was a child.

A muffled snort had Sasuke glancing at Suzue, who flushed and shrugged her shoulder towards the bathroom. "Naruto-kun's humming."

Listening for it now, Sasuke could clearly hear the humming now. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Dobe."

Suzue let out a small huff of laughter and Sasuke felt his ear heat up as he noticed that her smile lingered on her lips. He refused to think of the warm emotions he would sometimes get around her or the random thoughts that would come up that had words like cute in it. Sasuke did not have a crush on her. Nope, she was just a good friend, even if he hadn't wanted one.

"You know," Suzue started, drawing Sasuke's attention to her. "He's getting better. He's not really a deadlast anymore."

"Doesn't mean he's not an idiot," Sasuke countered.

"...He does seem like one on a regular basis, doesn't he?" Suzue agreed with a sigh. "And I doubt he'll ever be good at paper tests or book smarts."

Sasuke grunted his agreement as he dried the last bowl.

"But, Naruto's strong and getting stronger. I wouldn't be surprised if one day he became one of the strongest ninja in the village. Along with you," Suzue said as she put the dishes away since Sasuke had no idea where they went.

"You too," Sasuke added because he would be very surprised if she wasn't. She was already stronger than Naruto and was more of a rival for him than the Dobe. Still, that seemed to surprise her as she glanced at with wide eyes. "You easily keep up with the both of us. And we have a hard time keeping up with your workout routine."

"I guess," Suzue shrugged turning away from him. He could tell that she didn't really believe him but was willing to humor him. Sasuke let it go with a bit of annoyance and the vow to make sure she did keep up with him and the idiot.

"Sometimes I wonder," Sasuke started after making sure Naruto was still humming away in the bathroom. "How strong Naruto would be now if his schooling hadn't been sabotaged."

"Doesn't matter much now. Naruto-kun will catch up soon enough I think," Suzue answered as she walked back to the table and picked up her book.

"Doesn't it bother you that he was?" Sasuke asked because it bothered him a little. Sometimes he wondered if someone had tried to sabotage his schooling. He hadn't noticed Naruto's sabotage, so how would he notice his own?

"What can we do? We don't really have proof that it was actual sabotage. Besides, we're fixing things for him aren't we?"

"Suppose," Sasuke huffed. But before he could continue the bathroom door burst open and Naruto came barreling out putting an end to their conversation. No way Sasuke was letting the Dobe know he cared after all.

* * *

"Neh, do you think Kakashi-sensei will teach us something awesome for having to stay in the village?" Naruto asked after the three of them were done changing for the night. The blond was rolling out his sleeping bag on her floor.

"Maybe," Suzue offered from her perch on her bed watching the boys. She had a feeling that this mission was the reason Kakashi entered Team Seven into the Chunin Exams. It was an easy way to keep them in the village without going stir crazy. Though she didn't remember this latest mission from the manga at all. Maybe it had been from the anime? She had been less familiar with that.

"That would almost make up for having to do D-Rank missions until they find the leak," Sasuke grumbled, overly annoyed at this whole mess and him pretty much being the reason for it.

"We'll probably get a lot of free time to train," Suzue offered as consolation. Sasuke's grunt suggested that it didn't help. She wondered if she should mention the Chunin Exams but Suzue was still hoping that Kakashi wouldn't bring it up and they could avoid doing it. After all, the whole reason for them staying in the village was to keep Sasuke away from Orochimaru. In theory, this should be the safest place for Sasuke. Shame, her future knowledge proved it wrong.

"Erg, this is going to suck so much," Naruto moaned as he collapsed into his bedroll.

"We'll figure something out to keep busy...like break into Records again to steal Kakashi's official ninja picture," Suzue offered a faint smile playing on her lips at the memory.

"Er...I'm not sure I really want to stay the night in ANBU holding again," Naruto admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Then we'll just have to be better," Sasuke huffed, "Or are you just too scared?"

"I'm totally not scared!" Naruto protested sitting up, ready to defend his honor.

Suzue was debating on whether or not to stop them before it turned into a brawl when she sensed a ninja stop on her balcony. Head snapping to that direction and attracting her teammates' attention, Suzue crawled over to her window to peer through the curtains. Before she could though, there was a knock. Blinking in surprise, the lavender-haired girl recognized the knock as her brother's. She still peeked through the curtains to get a visual confirmation that it was indeed her older brother.

"I know him," Suzue informed her teammates as she pulled the curtains opened before unlocking the window. Her brother opened the window with practiced ease and climbed inside. "Toshi-nii."

"Suzue-chan!" he cried before enveloping her in a huge hug and squeezing her hard enough that she inadvertently let out a squeak. "Mizuki-chan said you wanted to speak to me right away! And why do you have boys in your apartment? You're way too young to have boys over!"

"They're my teammates," Suzue muttered into his chest, her face smashed against it. "Not random boys."

"Oh?" he blinked before giving the two startled boys a wide grin. "Pleasure to meet you! I'm Makuda Toshiyuki, Suzue-chan's older brother. I'm also very good at disposing of bodies and will not hesitation to do so to either of you if hurt my precious little sister."

"Toshi-nii!" Suzue squeaked as she pulled herself from the hug he was still holding her in. She turned to her teammates as she felt her face heat up in embarrassment over her brother's words. The two of them were staring at her brother like they weren't quite sure he was real. Not that she blamed them. "They're my teammates! They're not going to hurt me."

"They're also boys and I know what boys think."

Suzue let her head land in her hands as she curled up in a ball. Why was her brother being embarrassing? She highly doubted either of them thought about anything like what her brother was proposing. Let alone with her in mind if they did. Even if Naruto had his Sexy no Jutsu.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Naruto asked sounding offended. "I would never hurt Suzue-chan! And what does being a boy have to do with it?"

"And you're the one currently upsetting her," Sasuke threw in sounding annoyed.

"Suzue-chan?" she heard Toshiyuki ask before she was in his arms again with him wailing, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to embarrass you, my cute little sister! I'll talk to them later when you don't have to be here. Actually, that sounds like a better idea, to begin with, so I don't have you taint your innocent ears."

"Stop talking. Please," Suzue muttered face still hidden behind her hands. He obeyed the request and didn't say another word, though he didn't let her go from his hug.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto asked after several moments of silence that Suzue used to collect herself from the embarrassment of her brother in an overprotective mood.

"I'm fine," Suzue said after taking a deep breath. Then did introductions. "Like he said, this is my brother Toshiyuki, Toshi-nii this is Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, my teammates."

The three males just stared at each other in distrust making Suzue sigh.

"Is Mizuki-nee still mad at me?" Suzue finally asked when it appeared that the boys weren't going to say anything to each other.

"I guess? She was ranting at me about the last meeting between you two and seems under the impression that you hate her," Toshiyuki answered in a thoughtful tone. "What happened?"

Suzue glanced at her teammates then her brother. As much as she liked them, she wasn't comfortable having the talk she wanted with her brother in front of them. "Can we have lunch tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it then?"

"Of course! It's a date!" Toshiyuki easily agreed, cuddling her some more and making her squeak again. "Do you want me to stay here to make sure-"

"No," Suzue answered in a snappish tone before he could even finish. "Just go home and rest, you just got back didn't you?"

"But-"

"Nothing is going to happen, I've slept with them in the same room before since we've gone on overnight missions. So nothing is going to happen. Stop having your mind in the gutter!" Suzue ordered with a glare.

"Alright, fine," Toshiyuki pouted back at her. Then turned to the boys, "I'll know if you touch her!"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked looking confused.

"I'll see you tomorrow for lunch then Suzue-chan!" And with a quick kiss on her cheek, he was out the window in a flutter of her curtains.

"Suzue-chan," Naruto started slowly, "What was he talking about? Does he not want us touching you at all? But how are we supposed to train? Or give you hugs?!"

Suzue blinked as she turned back from re-locking her window and shutting her curtains. A glance at Sasuke revealed that he also looked confused over what her brother had been warning them against. Catching her bottom lip with her teeth, the lavender-haired girl took a moment to consider what to say before deciding to just be forward.

"My brother is under the impression that if he leaves me alone with a boy that they are going to go mad and try to force me to have sex with them or something along those lines."

Naruto paled and turned faintly green.

"He-what-why-Sex is gross!" Naruto finally blurted out hands gripping his blond hair. "I hated those classes! They were so disturbing and why would I want to something like that! And with Suzue-chan! Ew. Your brother is a pervert Suzue-chan!"

A glance at Sasuke's expression showed that he held a similar opinion to what Naruto was still ranting on about. It was too much and Suzue found herself cracking up laughing.

* * *

The next day found Suzue meeting up with her brother at the Okonomiyaki restaurant they usually ate at when they did meals together. He was already there when she showed up, saving a table for them. She went over when she spotted his waving and he got up to greet her with a hug that she returned. Even if he had embarrassed her last night, she was still fond of him and was glad he was back in the village.

"Nothing happened last night, right?" Toshiyuki asked as they sat down. "And I ordered already so it should be here soon."

"Okay. And other than discovering that both of my teammates are rather disturbed by the fact that you think they want to have sex with me, no," Suzue answered in a matter of fact tone. It took him a moment to process the information.

"Lies, they're boys," Toshiyuki countered with a hiss before doing a one-eighty to send a blinding smile at the waiter who had just come to their table. He took the offered ingredients, checking them before handing one of the bowls to Suzue who took it. "So what has been going on with you? Has it been eventful since you graduated? What...oh it's been nearly three months now! I missed so much..."

"You were out on a mission, and for the first month nothing much," Suzue shrugged as she stirred the ingredients for Okonomiyaki in the bowl.

"But things happened in the last two months?" Toshiyuki asked loosing some of his more cheerful and carefree demeanor.

"We got a C-Rank Mission about a month after graduation," Suzue started as her brother prepped the grill.

"So tell me about it."

Suzue then proceeded to tell him nearly everything that happened on the mission. (She was not telling him about when she woke one morning cuddling Sasuke because Naruto had pretty much kicked her out of her bedroll to sleep on it and his at some point in the middle of the night.) She sounded dead to her ear as she explained how the mission was increased to a Rank A and that she had been left alone to guard the house with just a nin-dog. There was no emotion when she told him that she killed the attackers, watched them bleed out before sending them to a watery grave. That she killed the man trying to kill her client because he was the reason Naruto was 'dead'. Told him how she massacred a mob of people and how easy it had been. It had been nothing more than a mere thought that had sent all their weapons plowing through them. She hadn't even needed to watch.

Toshiyuki just listened through the whole thing not interrupting as she poured out all the events and let him get glimpses of how she felt about it all. Suzue found herself staring at the Okonomiyaki she had made while talking by the end of it. She hadn't taken a bite of it yet but she did so now. Her brother took that to mean she was done talking.

"They did teach you how to break the neck of something at the Academy, didn't they? Next time you need to kill someone like that, just break their necks. That way you don't have to stand there watching them die. And you don't have to worry about getting blood everywhere."

Suzue blinked, "I hadn't even thought about doing that."

"Figured as much," Toshiyuki nodded as he took another bite of his Okonomiyaki. "And think about talking to your Sensei about what you should do in situations like that. You're probably going to find yourself in one again. And your teammates will need to know what to do as well."

"Ah...yeah," Suzue nodded. She could feel her brother's eyes staring at her but she didn't look up at him.

"You did well you know."

"I know."

"It's okay to feel nothing about having killed another human being."

"But it's not normal."

"Suzue," he said. The tone and lack of suffix had Suzue looking up at her brother who was staring at her with a soft but serious look. "You've always been different. Even as a kid. A lot of things that would be 'normal' just don't fit you. Your relationship with Mother is the perfect example of that. I'm pretty sure that the normal response to how Mother treats you is to try and get her to love you or failing that to hate her with ever fiber of you being. But you've always just accepted the fact that she hates you and dealt with it. Like deciding to go into a career that you hadn't had any interest in just to be able to move out on your own."

Suzue looked back down at her Okonomiyaki and took another bite so she didn't have to respond to her brother's very accurate recount of how she was. She was positive that most of it was because she had gained an adult view of the world very early in her childhood but she also knew that wasn't the complete reason for how she was.

Even in her past life, Suzue remembered that she could be detached from things, for one reason or another. This second childhood had left her even more detached from things. Mostly because for a long time she hadn't been sure if this was all just some sort of bizarre dream or that her recurring nightmare was real and she had died only to be reincarnated with her memories in-tacked.

"Does it really bother you that much that you killed those people without feeling anything?"

"Doesn't the fact that I don't feel anything mean something's wrong with me?" Suzue asked back, her hands clenching into fists.

"No," Toshiyuki answered without hesitation. "Suzue-chan, you've been training since you were eight on how to fight and even how to kill. It's been pounded into your head that you will kill at some point in this career. And I know you. You probably decided at some point that you would not feel guilty about killing another human being if it's required. And now that decision is biting you in the butt because you're feeling guilty over not feeling guilty. Which is something I can totally see you doing to yourself."

Suzue frowned up at her brother because he was right. She probably had made that decision at some point. Probably when she decided that she was actually going to go through with her decision to become a shinobi. But she also didn't feel like it was all that easy.

"But it looks like you've already figured all this out. So what is it about all of this that really has you bothered, Suzue?"

A heavy sigh escaped her lips and Suzue felt, to her horror, tears start to form in the corner of her eyes. She sucked in another breath as she threaded her right hand into her bangs to grip at them in an effort to ground herself so she didn't burst into tears in the middle of the restaurant.

"I...I just...I don't want," Suzue stuttered as she tried to find the right words she wanted. Why was talking so hard? "I feel fine but I feel like I shouldn't be fine. And...And I don't want to say I'm fine only to find out that I'm not. That I'm not really okay with this and I'm just going to...I don't know have a mental break at the worst possible time."

"I see," Toshiyuki murmured quietly. Suzue ducked her head as she felt even more tears come to her eyes and her chest constrict as she tried to keep her breathing even through the lump that seemed to have suddenly developed in her throat.

She was only vaguely aware of her brother calling a waiter over to pay for their meals as she blinked rapidly in an effort to hold off the sobs that were trying to escape from her mouth. Her nose was starting to get stuffy as well which in turn just made Suzue want to start crying even more...

Her brother was leading her out of the restaurant and away from every other human being. Suzue kept her head down in order to keep people from seeing her face because she didn't want anyone to know she was about to cry. In very little time she realized that her brother had led her to an empty alleyway and was now hugging her to his chest.

"You can cry now. No one will see you," he gently murmured to her. Suzue tried to hold it off despite his words because she hated crying in front of anyone, including him. But the hug was so warm and the tears weren't going away. Her next breath caught in her throat and came out in a choking sob. Her arms were then wrapped around Toshiyuki's waist to pull him closer as she started to sob.

Suzue wasn't even sure why she was crying. She didn't feel guilty for killing all those people. She knew she had done the 'right' thing. She had protected her client and her teammates. Maybe she had done some overkilling with the thugs at the bridge but she still didn't feel guilty over doing it. No one had called her a monster over it. Not even the civilians who had come to help clean up the mess. The opposite had happened. People just told her she had done a good job. That she had done the 'right' thing. The praises hadn't made her happy but they hadn't made her upset either. It was just a fact.

So why was she crying?

Toshiyuki was murmuring things to her. She couldn't understand the actual words over her hiccupping sobs that she tried to stop every time she took a breath. But they were comforting. As well as the small circles he was rubbing into her back.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there but eventually, her tears ran out. Her breathing turned to normal though she really needed to blow her nose now. As if reading her mind, her brother produced a piece of fabric that could work as a handkerchief. Though, Suzue was sure that it wasn't the original purpose of the fabric.

Once done, her brother took the used cloth back and it disappeared somewhere as Suzue used her sleeve to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"Feel better?" Toshiyuki asked with a small smile.

Suzue thought about it and realized that she did feel better. Like a weight she hadn't know she had been carrying around was now gone. So she nodded.

"That's good!" he smiled giving her another quick hug. "Crying can have that effect."

"If you say so," Suzue murmured as she stared at her feet, embarrassed for having a breakdown.

"I do say so," her brother declared. "Do you want to go home or talk more? Do you have anything else bothering you?"

"Home," Suzue muttered after a moment's thought. Or rather lack of one. Her head felt empty at the moment. Wasn't there other things she had wanted to bring up?

"Alright, I'll walk you home then. We can catch up later again."

"...How long are you going to be here?" Suzue asked.

"A few months actually," Toshiyuki answered with a grin. "I've been roped into helping with the Chunin Exams that are coming up. So we'll probably be able to meet up more. Mizuki-chan can even join us!"

"You're," Suzue started surprised to learn that Toshiyuki was going to be helping. Was that even allowed since her team was going to be in it? "Going to be a part of the Chunin Exams?"

"Yep!" Toshiyuki chirped. "Though you're sensei is probably going to drag your team off on a mission during it so you won't get to watch sadly."

"My team's grounded in the village until further notice," Suzue informed him before she could think better of it.

That made her brother stop walking to stare at her. "What?"

"Ah, well," Suzue started as she turned wide eyes to him before looking everywhere but him. "It's not official yet but..."

"Suzue-chan, please explain just what your team could have possibly done to be grounded in the village. For months."

"We didn't do anything," was Suzue's immediate protest which just got her an unamused look. "And I don't know for how long. Sensei hasn't even told us that we're grounded. So I guess we might not be, but that's unlikely. And it has nothing to do with anything we did. Just...I...

"Suzue," her brother broke through, "you're rambling."

The girl stared at him before flushing and looking at her feet. "I actually don't know how much I can say. Just that something came up on our mission yesterday and we're pretty sure it's going to leave us stuck in the village for a while. Kakashi-sensei hasn't told us what's going on yet. He had to stay back and talk to the Hokage about it."

"Stay back..." Toshiyuki muttered. "Suzue-chan, how many C-Rank Missions have you been on?"

"Two, now...though the Wave Mission got upped to A-Rank and yesterday's mission has been upped to a B-Rank mission," Suzue explained. She jumped when her brother let out several swear words and curses. Blinking at the uncharacterized swearing, Suzue fidgeted until her brother sighed and glared at a nearby house.

"Your team is one of those teams aren't they."

"Those teams?"

"The teams who never have a mission go right. Everything always goes to shit and if things do go right, it's a sign of the end of the world."

"...Really?" Suzue asked in disbelieve. There was more than one team like that? Maybe that fan theory of all Team Sevens having missions going FUBAR was true.

"Yes, really," Toshiyuki confirmed with a frown. Then he shook his head before starting to walk again. Suzue trailed next to him wondering about the other teams. "Hopefully you'll get rid of this luck once you get placed on another team."

"Placed on another team?" Suzue repeated, confused. "What do you mean placed on another team?"

"Suzue-chan, you're team is full of combat specialists. Your team was never meant to stay together for the long term. Once one of you place Chunin, your team's going to be broken up."

"But," Suzue started before being forced to pause because she didn't know what she wanted to say in response to that. "I thought Genin teams stayed together. Unless one dies or something."

"No, genin teams that stay together are actually rather rare. Even when there's not a death or something in the unit," Toshiyuki explained. "I thought you would have realized this already. I know you've noticed that everyone is a combat specialist. That's not a balanced team, Suzue-chan."

"I know," Suzue muttered. "I just...never realized that meant we weren't sticking together."

"Well," Toshiyuki started after several awkward moments. "You and your team will probably stick together for a while yet. None of you are going to becoming Chunin anytime soon."

"I guess so," Suzue muttered though she knew better.

Team Seven would end up in the Chunin Exams that were coming up. Sasuke would get that curse mark from Orochimaru because Suzue wasn't under any delusions that she could actually prevent that. Orochimaru would find a way, she was sure, even on the off chance she managed to prevent it from happening in the Forest of Death. Whether Sasuke left for Orochimaru was another story and Suzue had no idea if she could keep that from happening. She was certainly going to try at the very least. And that wasn't even touching on the fact that Jiraiya was going to come and take Naruto away for two or three years. She couldn't remember how long the time skip had been for anymore.

Suzue realized that she would only have a few more months at most with her team before they were broken up and scattered. And with the way all of them were developing their skills, Suzue wasn't even sure she would be placed back with her team after Naruto returned. The answer was probably a big fat no. Their team would be way too combat heavy to place her back with them. Or if they did place her back on the team she would be replacing someone else.

"When do the Chunin Exams start?" Suzue suddenly asked in an effort to stop her thoughts. She didn't want to think about that anymore.

"July 1st," Toshiyuki answered easily.

They had 10 days left. Would she even see Sasuke for the month-long training? It had been a month...right?

"Worried about your teammates complaining about not being in the Exam?" Toshiyuki asked when she didn't say anything.

"Guess," Suzue shrugged. Tiredness was creeping into her bones making her want to just collapse into bed and not move ever again. Toshiyuki made a noncommittal noise and stayed silent the rest of the way back to her place.

"Suzue," he started before she could bid him goodbye. He stepped into her doorway so she couldn't even close the door on him. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

She started at him for a long moment. They didn't look alike. He took after their father and she took too much after her mother. Sometimes Suzue wondered if, maybe, she had looked like their father Toshiyuki's mother would have liked her more.

"I like my teammates," Suzue finally muttered looking away from him. "I like my sensei."

That was all she had to say apparently. Toshiyuki let out a sigh and he pulled her into another hug. "Just because you aren't on the same team doesn't mean that you can't see them ever again. You can still hang out with them, you know? I still hang out with my genin teammates. And like I said, it won't be for another few years before you're split up. By that time the three of you will probably be sick of each other."

"If you say so," Suzue murmured into his chest before pulling away. He let her. "I'm tired. I'll see you around?"

"Of course," Toshiyuki grinned at her. "I'll talk to Mizuki-chan and clear up this little misunderstanding. The three of us will do something together in a couple day, kay?"

"Sure, just let me know beforehand," Suzue agreed. Her brother gave her a cheeky grin and wave before disappearing.

The lavender haired girl stared at the spot he had been before closing the door. She stood there for a long moment, not sure what to do. Thoughts about the future kept trying to climb into her mind even as she tried to empty it of everything. Feeling even more tired, Suzue walked over her bed and collapsed into it. She didn't leave it again until the following morning.

* * *

I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I suppose every author has that one chapter they hate. This is that one chapter. I'm still not very happy with it but I don't know what else to do with it. It's been rewritten way too many times already; I really need to stop messing with it. So here it is for y'all. I hope you enjoyed. I should have the next chapter up in about two weeks. So around May 20th/21st I think. And since that chapter is already pretty much written, I should actually meet that deadline.

If you haven't seen it yet, there's also a side story for Blackout now, called Side Stories for Blackout. Not sure what else to call it. So far is has one chapter of Team Seven bounding and I'm going to be posting the next chapter soon if it's not already up. That one is a retelling of the Bell Test from Kakashi's POV that someone asked about a while ago.

You can also find me on Tumblr under the name lady-hachimitsu were I occasionally post stuff and do post when I update this story. Thank you everyone who reviewed, favorite, and/or followed this story! They always make my day.


	8. Chapter 8 - Enter the Chunin Exam

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine…

Warnings: Anxiety, kids being kids, minor child abuse?, don't know, Naruto hits Konohamaru on the head, make of that as you will, panic attacks, hyperventilation, Sasuke having feelings, and acknowledging it, sort of, plot points that aren't really plot points, maybe, we'll see, more crushes on Suzue, I think that's it

Chapter Eight - Enter the Chunin Exam

* * *

Naruto raced to the meeting point to join up with his teammates, sure that today was the day they were finally going to be able to take better missions. After all, a week was enough time to find the information leak and take care of everything. Right?

Wrong!

"Another D-Rank Mission," Naruto whined once Kakashi finally showed up after making them wait for three hours and explained what they were going to be doing that day. "Lame! Can't we go on better missions yet? Surely they found the person."

"It takes longer than a week to find an information leak," Kakashi informed the blond who just pouted up at him.

"That can't be true! Right, Suzue-chan?" Naruto questioned turning to his female teammate who looked tired. A frown formed on his face as he wondered just why she had been looking so tired this last week. Was she still having nightmares? He thought her weird, pervert brother was supposed to fix that.

"I think Kakashi-sensei's right on this one Naruto-kun," she sighed rubbing one of her arms.

"Erg...Why can't they just find the person already?" Naruto groaned collapsing onto the ground. "D-Rank Missions are so lame. Are we really going to be digging potatoes up all day long?"

"That's the mission," Kakashi confirmed, his pervy book already in hand as he turned and started leading them towards their destination.

Naruto huffed and got up off the ground to follow after his team. Then a thought came to mind. "Hey, hey! This mission only last until we dig up the whole field right?!"

"That's correct," Kakashi nodded as he flipped a page. Naruto giggled.

"Dobe?" Sasuke question when Naruto was quiet was for too long.

"We can totally get this mission done in a day!" Naruto cackled. "I'll just use my clones and we'll be done in no time!"

"Sounds like a plan, Naruto-kun," Suzue smiled at him. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled his chest at the sight and Naruto was glad that she didn't look so tired anymore. "Maybe we'll set a record. Hey, Sensei do they have a record of the fastest completed D-Rank Mission?"

"Only for catching the Daimyo's wife's cat," Kakashi answered.

"Why only that one?" Sasuke asked and Naruto knew his curiosity had gotten the better of him. It made Naruto snicker which earned him a glare from the dark haired boy.

"That mission happens about once a week."

"How does that even work? She lives in the capital," Suzue mused.

"R and D are still trying to figure that out," Kakashi hummed turning another page of his book. "I'll share some to the more interesting theories when you have the clearance to hear them."

"Okay then," Suzue said her eyes narrowing. Naruto saw her focus on their sensei's book and he wondered if the three of them were going to try and steal it again today. Maybe they could bury it in the field or something. It had been fun in last week's mission trying to get water on the book while making it look like an accident.

The farmer was mad at them for showing up nearly three hours late. Stupid Kakashi totally threw them into a jutsu for that, like they hadn't been waiting for him for all those hours. At least they got to train with each other. Though with his awesomeness and clones, they were able to make up the time once Suzue-chan had organized them into a system. The farmer guy was really happy after that.

"We were totally awesome!" Naruto crowed happily as they made their way back from the farm. "Hey, hey! Are we going to nab another mission or train? Kakashi-sensei teach us something cool!"

"Ah?" Kakashi said as he looked away from the sky down at the blond. "Sorry, but we're done for the day! I'll see you three tomorrow. Don't worry about the report, I'll make sure that it gets turned in!"

"Please don't stress the Mission Desk-Nin more than they already are," Suzue requested making Naruto blink at her in question.

"Would I do that?" Kakashi asked with his eye smile.

"Totally," Teme agreed with Suzue-chan.

"So...We're done for the day?" Naruto asked slightly disappointed.

"Yep! Remember tomorrow at the bridge at 7! See you then!"

And then Kakashi was gone.

"Which means we won't see him till 9 at the least," Naruto grumbled at the space where Kakashi had just been.

"Yeah..." Suzue agreed with a sigh drawing Naruto's attention to her. He grinned.

"Can we hang out again?! We could spar against each other! Or work on ninja wire...Oh! We can go prank someone! We'll test lots of ninja skills doing that! Right, Suzue-chan? Right?!"

"Ah...yeah, that's right," Suzue nodded before glancing at Sasuke. "What do you want to do?"

Naruto turned to the other boy as he narrowed his eyes at him, wondering just what he would pick or if he would suggest something else. Then he spoke taking Naruto by surprise.

"Who do you want to prank?"

"You're seriously suggesting we go prank someone?" Naruto asked in disbelieve.

"Hn...depends on who you're going to prank. If I don't want to prank them then we can go work on ninja wire," Sasuke huffed, turning to glare at a nearby fence.

"Well," Naruto started going through his mental list of people he wanted to prank. Couldn't prank civilians anymore because he was a ninja and that could get him in serious trouble, but there were plenty of shinobi he wanted to prank.

But before Naruto could decide on who he wanted to prank he noticed something behind him. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced over his shoulder to confirm what he was seeing before slumping down a little. Knowing that they would just keep following him, he spun around and point dramatically at the box that was supposed to blend into the cobblestone path.

"Rocks don't have perfect right angles!" Naruto shouted making the rock box jump and three squeals sound from within. The box was then pushed over and three children emerge from the inside.

"Leave it to the man I have acknowledged as being almost my equal! Your skills rival my own!" Konohamaru declared as the three children all struck poses. But Naruto wasn't paying attention to what the kid was saying. He was more distracted by what the three of them were wearing on their forehead.

"Hey, what's up with the goggles?"

"Hehehe! You're our idol, right? We're copying the style you used to wear!" Konohamaru explained with a wide grin. Warm, fuzzy feelings made themselves known in Naruto's chest and he wasn't quite sure what to do with them.

"I thought we avoided the Dobe getting minions." Naruto glanced at his teammates to see Sasuke leaning towards Suzue who was leaning back to listen.

"Only on babysitting missions. It's not like we're with him 24/7 to make sure he doesn't get minions," Suzue muttered back with a look of defeat.

"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked confused.

"Nothing," both of them said at the same time. Now he knew something was going on. But Konohamaru interrupted him before he got to think more on the matter.

"Hey! Who's the babe and the dark guy?"

"Oh, this is Suzue-chan and Teme. They're my teammates! We go on awesome missions together!" Naruto introduced with a wide grin.

"Dobe, Teme is not my name," Sasuke bit out.

"Yes, it is!" Naruto counter a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Then are you admitting that Dobe is your name?" Suzue asked making both Naruto and Sasuke turn to her in surprise because she didn't usually butt into their arguments like that. Naruto watched as her cheeks flushed and the marks on her cheeks turn blue meaning that she hadn't meant to say that out loud. Naruto had to fight the urge to poke at the marks, after all, he hated people touching the ones on his own cheeks and it was polite not to do things you didn't want people doing to you.

"I wasn't admitting to anything!" Naruto shouted before he could be even further distracted by his female teammate's red and blue cheeks. "Teme will always be a Teme, but I'm going to be Hokage!"

"Hey, boss," Konohamaru called out as he pulled on the sleeve of Naruto's jacket to gain his attention. Naruto gave it easily enough wondering what the boy wanted now. "Seeing as how you're so smart and suave and all...the babe...I can tell...you and she are...you know right?"

And to Naruto's horror, Konohamaru held out his pinky in the sign for 'girlfriend'. He wiped his head to Suzue hoping that she hadn't seen it and was about to stop breathing again. Sasuke would totally blame him for that, again.

She saw. She was staring at the hand. Her eyes were blank and the blush was gone. But she was still breathing. That was a good sign.

Right?

"No! No! No! No!" Naruto declared violently as he grabbed the boy's hand and forced it out of that sign. "Never suggest that again! Suzue-chan is my friend who just happens to be a girl! Not my girlfriend!"

"Really? But she's really cute and pretty. Even if she doesn't have any..." Konohamaru countered. He ended that statement by cupping his hands over his chest. Naruto just stared trying to figure out just what he was hinting at this time. Then he got it. And before this moment, Naruto had never realized that Suzue-chan didn't have any boobs. All the other girls in their class had had boobs. Even Sakura who had the smallest ones. Was something wrong with Suzue-chan since she didn't have any?

"Do you know how rude it is to do something like that, brat?" Sasuke growled drawing Naruto's attention back to Konohamaru.

"I guess," Konohamaru drawled as he dropped his hands. "But it's true isn't it?"

There a hitch in Suzue's breathing and Naruto glanced at her. She was still breathing but he noticed that her hands were gripping the hem of her skirt tight enough to turn her knuckles white.

"Shut up, Konohamaru," Naruto ordered turning back to the boy. "So what if it's true? You don't need to draw attention to it!"

Konohamaru made a face at him. "Whatever! If you don't want her to be your girlfriend, she can be mine! Hey, hey, pretty lady, will you be my girlfriend?"

"...What?" Suzue choked out and Naruto could feel his own heartbeat increase as he realized that Suzue seemed to be having problems breathing. "Why? You're...you're...like...six!"

"I'm eight! I can take you to ramen. Gramps just gave me my allowance," Konohamaru offered.

Naruto had enough. He hit Konohamaru over the head to get his attention because he really didn't know what else to do. He just wanted the boy's attention off Suzue-chan.

"No. You don't get to ask Suzue-chan out on a date. You don't get to ask to be her boyfriend either! Suzue-chan doesn't want to date anyone so don't bother her about it! Understand?" Naruto snapped, he glanced over at his teammates and Sasuke was making sure that Suzue was breathing right.

Konohamaru started at him with wide eyes, clutching his head. Then tears started forming in his eyes. With a loud wail, the boy kicked Naruto in the shin, called him a meanie for hitting him, and ran off.

Naruto cursed as he gripped his shin in pain and hopped around to keep his balance. Once the pain wasn't a sharp throb, he tenderly but his leg down and looked over at his two teammates when his leg didn't burst into pain again from standing on it.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto called as he hurried over to her crouched form.

"I'm fine," she muttered between heavy breathing. "I just...he's a kid."

"He's a brat," Sasuke corrected with a snort, hand still resting on Suzue's back.

"Well, he won't be bothering you anymore Suzue-chan. Made sure of that," Naruto informed the girl with a pleased nod. Even if he did feel a little guilty about making Konohamaru cry. Suzue hadn't made him cry when she explained that it was rude to talk about girls' boobs when he didn't know the girl at all. And even then, he had to know if the girl in question was okay with him doing it and if she wasn't then he wasn't supposed to.

Suzue was looking at him. After a long moment where he almost started fidgeting she let out a sigh and said, "You should make sure he's okay at some point soon. You were rather mean about telling him off. And you probably shouldn't have hit him."

Naruto winced. "I guess."

"Look, while I would have expected the Hokage's Grandson to have more manners, he is still a kid, so is learning what is acceptable and what isn't. And...I over reacted."

"The brat still shouldn't have done or said what he did," Sasuke grunted. "I think he got off light."

"Who asked your opinion, Teme?" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. "I'll talk to him la-"

A panicked yell sounded in the air making all of Team Seven turn towards the source. Naruto felt his eyes widen as he realizes that the yell sounded a lot like Konohamaru.

"I think that was one of the kids, I'm going to go check up on them," Naruto quickly informed them as he leaped onto the nearby fence. Even if Konohamaru had been rude to Suzue-chan, it didn't mean that Naruto wouldn't save him.

Naruto was, after all, a hero.

* * *

Suzue felt like an idiot. Who has a near-panic attack over a kid asking them out? You were just supposed to say no, or you're too young, or something like that. Not start hyperventilating in front of them.

She was pretty sure the reason it happened was because she hadn't expected it. Really, before she ended up on Team Seven, no one had ever had an interest in dating her. Then there was Naruto, Inari, and now apparently Konohamaru. (Sasuke too, some part of her brain told her but she pushed that back to the dark abyss it had crawled out from to not think about.) Even in her last life, she had no dating life. No one had ever asked her out and she had been too shy or uninterested to ever ask anyone out. Actually, now that she thought about it, had she been interested in anyone in her last life that she wanted to date?

The answer seemed to be a no. And being reborn with memories intact just seemed to add even more problems.

"Are you okay now?" Sasuke asked pulling her from her self-pitying thought. "The Dobe could probably use some backup if there is actual trouble."

"Fine, not hyperventilating anymore," Suzue answered taking a deep breath before exhaling loudly. "Shall we go?"

Sasuke just gave a nod and they leaped onto the same fence as Naruto had earlier to see what was going on.

Naruto and the three kids were easy enough to find as they were just two streets down. But Suzue was startled to find that they were with two-thirds of the sand siblings. With a jolt, she realized that she had forgotten this encounter. Didn't Sasuke come to the rescue or something? And Gaara came along...right?

A tug had her turning to Sasuke who used hand signs to tell her that she should attack and he'll keep out of sight as the backup. Suzue nodded and pulled out a coin as her teammate disappeared from her side. Flipping the coin into the air, Suzue Pushed it, remembering at last moment to keep it light so as not to send the coin through Kankuro's arm. That would not be a good idea...properly.

With a grunt and grasping his now very bruised arm, both Kankuro and Temari turned to glare at her. With effort, Suzue pulled up all her knowledge of dealing with foreign ninja inside one's own village and somehow managed to spit out, "Please state your names and your business for being inside Konoha."

"Oh, look another little brat," Kankuro drawled with a nasty glare at her.

"Name and business or I'll alert all nearby shinobi that we have intruders and you can explain to them why you are harassing one of our civilians," Suzue threaten. She was somewhat surprised by how steady her voice was. She could feel sweat starting to drip down her back as nerves made her stomach turn.

A sudden manifestation of...something metal made Suzue turn to the tree to see what it was. Because it was weird. It came across as really weak to her senses, enough so that she hadn't really picked it up until it was nearly on top of her. But the metal itself didn't feel solid; like it was pockets of something sitting among other things in a jar.

Or a gourd she realized as she saw that Gaara had appeared. But why would she be picking up metal from the gourd? The desert that made up most of Wind Country could not have enough metal in it be picked up by her...could it? No that didn't make sense because if it was the sand itself she should be picking up differently.

Then it dawned on her what it could be that she was picking up.

Suzue's uncle had the best metal sensing ability in her family. His sensing was so fine-tuned that he could even sense the metal that swam inside people's blood streams. It was how he got out of being a combat shinobi despite their bloodline being nearly perfect for that type of shinobi. Though the ability to have that level of awareness came at not being nearly as good at the Pushing and Pulling accepts of their bloodline. Suzue was already surpassing her uncle in that area so she knew she was never going to be as good of a sensor with their bloodline.

He had described what it felt like to sense the metal in the blood of living beings to her at one point. And while it didn't quite match up with what she was picking up from Gaara it was similar enough to think she was sensing the leftover blood from all of Gaara's victims.

It was horrifying to think about just how many people he had to have killed for her to even be able to pick up leftovers.

Suddenly Sasuke was standing next to her glaring at Gaara. And it was just a little bit easier to breathe.

"This is Temari, Kankuro, and I am Gaara," Gaara suddenly spoke up looking at her. "We are here for the Chunin exams."

It took a moment for Suzue to realize that he was answering her question. She swallowed and opened to mouth to answer but nothing came out. She tried again only to fail once more.

Sasuke ended up rescuing her.

"Then as guests of our village for the exams, you should refrain from picking fights with civilians or run the risk of being thrown out."

"I understand. Kankuro will not bother anyone else while here," Gaara acknowledged. He still hadn't moved from the tree branch he was hanging off of.

"But Gaara! They started it!" Kankuro whined but was cut off before he could get very far.

"Shut up or I'll kill you."

It took every ounce of willpower she had not to take a step back and hide behind Sasuke. While Gaara had been one of her favorite characters it wasn't until the end of the Chunin Exams that he would have his change of heart and become a decent person. It was being shoved at her just how apathetic Gaara was to everyone else. And how easily he killed people.

Gaara suddenly shifting from the tree branch to the ground between his siblings made Suzue jump and nearly pull out all the weapons in her thigh holsters to throw at him. He was now staring at...her.

"What is your name?"

A swallow and somehow she managed to get out in a voice just louder than a whisper, "Hagiwara Suzue."

Gaara nodded then turned away. "We're leaving."

Then they were gone.

It took effort for Suzue not to slump to the ground. With the sand siblings gone, she was picking up other ninja. Since she was in the village, Suzue didn't usually pay much attention to them. But when she flicked her eyes up into the tree to visually confirm that yes there were ninja up there, she had to do a double-take. Because they were not Konoha ninja.

"Oh, notice us did you?" the middle one asked in an airy tone as Suzue stared at the Sound Trio. She couldn't remember their names at all and had to take a moment to place just why they looked familiar.

"Are you here for the Chunin exams as well?" Sasuke asked back after taking notice of them.

"Why, yes, we are," the middle one answered. Suzue could almost see the smirk under the bandages he had wrapped around his face. "Seems like there will be many interesting people in it this year."

"Of course there will be!" Naruto shouted up at them.

"If you have no business with us, I suggest you carry on your way," Suzue informed them managing to push her nerves to the side. Were they already trying to go after Sasuke? She didn't remember them encountering Team Seven before the first exam.

"See you around then," the middle one offered before all three of them disappeared. Suzue tracked them down the road and sighed once she thought they were far enough away.

"Anyone else lurking around?" Sasuke asked as his eyes darted around to search the area.

"No," Suzue answered a moment later.

"You saved me."

Suzue blinked and turned to see Konohamaru staring at her with an odd look.

"Of course, you are a civilian of Konoha and just because I think you're a rude brat doesn't mean I'll just let you get beat up when I can do something about it," Suzue informed him looking away.

"You think I'm rude?" Konohamaru muttered, expression turning into a frown.

"You were very rude to Suzue-chan!" Naruto snapped, crossing his arms. "You should say you're sorry!"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Konohamaru protest, stomping his foot.

"Yes, you did! You made Suzue-chan upset! She doesn't like people trying to be her boyfriend or implying stuff like that," Naruto informed the kid.

"Why not?! She pretty enough...even if-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll use you as target practice for my fire jutsu," Sasuke threaten with a growl. "It's very rude to say such things, especially in front of the girl in question."

"Would you like it if I kept talking about how you and your friend there were a couple?" Suzue suddenly asked feeling tired of this conversation and just wanting it to be done.

"What? No! Megumi is my friend and isn't really a girl anyways," Konohamaru protested.

"What do you mean not really a girl?" Megumi screeched.

"I mean, just, that, you don't really, do girl things?" Konohamaru tried to answer as his friend loomed over him.

"That doesn't mean I'm not a girl!" She shouted at him. Suzue snorted then started giggling over their antics making them turn to look at her.

"You really need to learn tact," Suzue chuckled at Konohamaru who mulishly pouted at her. "But...that feeling you got when I implied that...Megumi was it?...when I implied that Megumi was your girlfriend is the same feeling I get when anyone talks about me being their girlfriend or anything related to it."

"...Really," Konohamaru asked in a tone of disbelieve. "But you're really pretty! Don't guys ask you out all the time?"

That made Suzue blink. "Um...not really? I think Naruto-kun's the only one who's asked me to be his girlfriend and that was only because he was confused about girlfriends and friends who are girls."

"...Huh? And here I thought you would have a fanclub or something."

"I'm not that pretty," Suzue muttered. She could feel her cheeks heat up.

"You're prettier than Teme and he has a fanclub," Naruto grumbled with a glare thrown at Sasuke.

"Not like I asked for it, Dobe," the other boy threw back.

"Anyways, please don't ask me about dating or relationships," Suzue sighed before Naruto and Sasuke could really get into it.

"...Fine," Konohamaru grumbled, kicking the ground with his foot. "And I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable."

"Accepted," Suzue acknowledged with a sigh. She suddenly just wanted to go home and go to bed. Not that she would sleep. Just lay there with her mind unable to shut up.

"Hey, hey! You want to play ninja with us?! Boss said he would!" Konohamaru asked before Suzue could think of a good way to excuse herself.

"I did?" Naruto asked with a frown as he tried to remember just when he promised such a thing.

"A ninja playing ninja?" Sasuke scoffed.

"It's fun training," Suzue threw in before Naruto could even take a breath to protest. "Playing ninja helps develop skills and learn the ninja mind set. And if you really think about it, all training is 'playing' ninja in a way."

"You're so smart, Suzue-chan!" Naruto praised while Sasuke grunted and looked away.

"So...that's a yes, right?" Konohamaru pressed.

"Sure, we can work on your horrible hiding methods," Suzue decided to agree. "Sasuke help us."

"Whatever," Sasuke grumped but didn't turn to leave.

"Alright! And our hiding methods aren't horrible!" Konohamaru protested.

"Yes they are," Naruto countered. "Like I said earlier! Rocks don't have perfect right angles!"

"We totally got you with it though," Konohamaru respond.

"No you didn't," Naruto shook his head. Then he paused and turned to Suzue with a look of confusion. "Hey, Suzue-chan, what are the Chunin Exams?"

Suzue facepalmed before letting out a noise that might have been a hysterical laugh before looking up to start explaining what the Chunin Exams were to her blond teammate.

* * *

Sasuke could not believe his teammates had managed to get him to 'play' ninja with those three brats. He hadn't 'played' ninja since before That Night and hadn't had any intention of ever 'playing' ninja ever again. But his teammates had managed it. He was putting the blame on Suzue for that one. It wasn't like he could have left her alone with just the Dobe as back up against rude brats. Too much of a chance for the blond to side with them and not Suzue.

Determined to never mention that he had actually had fun with 'playing' ninja with the brats, Sasuke was glad at least that Suzue seemed to go back to normal as the evening had gotten on. She had even laughed at one point which was another thing he was never going to mention that he enjoyed.

But...that good mood didn't seem to have lasted.

The morning after had Naruto (and him once Naruto got them on the topic) asking Suzue about the Chunin Exams. At first, he hadn't noticed the drop in mood, but he did pick up on the fact that she wasn't smiling anymore and was looking like she had done all of her stupid crazy workout routines, followed by training with Kakashi in full teacher mode, and finished off by another crazy workout routine with probably a spar add in somewhere.

He managed to get Naruto off the topic after that and with a quick word when Suzue wasn't around, both of them agreed to not mention the Chunin Exams around Suzue since that seemed to be one of the things that upset her. At least they thought so. Suzue didn't seem to get upset about anything besides talk of romantic relationships and her family. So it was hard to tell. At least she wasn't hyperventilating over it. That was always a plus.

The next few days were spent training with Kakashi and with no mention of the Chunin Exams or run-ins with foreign shinobi, Suzue seemed to get happier. There was still an air of sadness around her that Sasuke just couldn't figure out and wasn't going to poke at because Suzue didn't poke at him, and he didn't want to imply that she was welcome to do that. Even if it was making him twitchy not to know. He could be patient though.

At least, that's what he thought until Kakashi showed up late (again) to team meeting only to hand out Chunin Exam forms.

"You're joking," Naruto declared after Kakashi announced he was signing them up for the Chunin Exams.

"Nope, have the application forms right here!" Kakashi eye-smiled at them holding out the forms. The three of them stared at the form before slowly taking them. Sasuke frowned at his form, half expecting it to go 'poof' and disappear on him. Then Naruto was launching himself at Kakashi with cries of 'I love you!' and Sasuke was sure the only reason the blonde managed to ever get his arms around Kakashi to hug him was because their sensei was too surprised by Naruto's outburst to react properly.

"Off Naruto-kun," Kakashi ordered pushing the blond off him. The Dobe went easily enough turning his attention to the form while giggling.

"Remember this is just the nomination form. Whether or not you take the test is up to you. But if you decide to, then sign those forms and turn them in by 4 tomorrow afternoon at room 301 in the Academy."

"...Okay, Sensei," Suzue acknowledged. Sasuke glanced at her and frowned because she did not see happy with this turn of events. Then again she hadn't been happy at all with any talk about the Chunin Exam.

"And that's all for the day! Bye!"

Then Kakashi was gone just like that.

"What?! We're not doing anything today!" Naruto shouted at the air where Kakashi had been.

"Seems like it Dobe," Sasuke threw out looking back down at his form. He wanted to take the Exams. He had to get stronger after all and it would be better than hanging around the village training and doing D-Rank missions.

"Don't call me that!" Naruto shouted at him. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Take the rest of the day off," Sasuke answered easily. "Have to make sure we're in top shape for the Exams, right Suzue?"

"Yes, that would be the best idea if we're taking them," Suzue answered as she folded up her form and stuck it in her hip pouch.

"Oh, because we have to rest our bodies to have them in top shape! Right?" Naruto grinned. Suzue nodded, fingers fiddling with her sleeves.

"Do you not want to take the Chunin Exams?" Sasuke asked with a frown. Suzue turned with a wide-eyed look.

"Huh? Of course, Suzue-chan wants to take the Exams! It'll be awesome, right?" Naruto declared, throwing a grin at Suzue.

"I," Suzue started but didn't get much further than that. Her face turned red and her gaze turned to the ground to focus on that instead.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto questioned getting in close to her. "Are you scared? You don't have to be. We'll be right there too. And the three of us together can take on anything!"

"The Dobe's right. For once," Sasuke threw in.

"Yeah! Wait...Teme!" Naruto snapped, giving him a glare.

Suzue snorted at their by-play, which was great because it meant that she wasn't letting her fear get the better of her. Maybe now she'll tell them what her problem was.

"So, we'll all take the Exams, right? And we'll show everyone just how awesome we all are!" Naruto went on as he threw his arms around her shoulders.

"Yeah, we're awesome," Suzue agreed, though didn't look at them.

"So, what's the problem?" Sasuke asked when it became apparent that Suzue wasn't going to say anything else.

She fidgeted a bit before letting out a long sigh and answering him.

"Our team isn't going to stick together once at least one of us becomes a Chunin."

Sasuke felt his breath catch in his throat. That's couldn't be true. It's couldn't. He could not lose his team. He cared. The Wave Mission had shown him just how much he cared about his teammates. Not that he was going to tell anyone or ever admit to it. At least not until That Man was dead and wasn't a threat because Sasuke was sure that if That Man ever found out that he had people he cared for again, He would come back and kill them. Just like He had done to his family.

"What?" Naruto breathed out instead of yelling. He was staring wide-eyed at Suzue. "What...do you mean? Why don't we stick together? I mean...they made us a combat team, right? You're always going on about how we're a combat team."

"We are," Suzue agreed. She still wasn't looking at them and she looked...defeated. "But we're an unbalanced combat team. A combat team where every single member is a combat specialist. That's not how actually combat teams work. There should be one person on the team that specializes in something that is more support than combat. Though them being a combat or an assault ninja second is usually a good idea."

"I don't get it? We all have different things we're good at and we work well together," Naruto protested looking confused. Sasuke was beginning to see where Suzue was going with this.

"What about the Sannin?" Sasuke had to ask because all of them were combat ninja. "They all fight like we do."

"Tsunade is a medic ninja first and combat ninja second. That's the difference," Suzue answered with a sigh. "None of us are interested in becoming a medic nin and none of us specializes in genjutsu. Or even going to do so. I'm...I'm not really sure what other specializations one of us would need for us to stay together as a team, just that none of us are showing any sort of interested in such."

"Then we'll find out," Sasuke declared simply. He could go into genjutsu. The Uchiha were well known for it. Many of them specialized in that area. That Man had. He just hadn't had much opportunity to dive into it. He'll talk to Kakashi about fixing that. Though Sasuke could admit to himself that he wasn't sure he want to have genjutsu be his first specialization. Maybe...

"Yeah! What Teme said. We'll figure out a way we can stick together, even when we become Chunin. If not then we'll stay Genin forever. Except when I become Hokage. Then I'll just fix everything and we can be Jounin," Naruto nodded, looking pleased with himself.

"Or..." Sasuke drawled, giving Naruto a look, "You can just throw a tantrum at the Hokage until you get your way and we stay together."

"Or I can do that," Naruto nodded then whipped his head to Sasuke as he realized just what the dark haired boy had said. "What do you mean throw a tantrum?!"

"Like what you did when you got us the Wave Mission," Sasuke pointed out. "You threw a tantrum and the Hokage gave us a better mission."

"That was not a tantrum. Only little kids and babies throw tantrums."

"Tantrum."

"Pointing out flaws!"

"Boys," Suzue said before Sasuke could say anything in response. They both turned to her and there was a faint smile on her lips. She was also looking at them instead of the ground, so Sasuke guessed that she was feeling better about this topic.

"While these are all good ideas...it doesn't really help us with taking the Exams now," Suzue pointed out once she knew she had their attention.

"The Dobe throws a tantrum about being separated if we make Chunin," Sasuke easily pointed out.

"Pointing out what a bad idea it is!" Naruto protested. "I'll just point out what a bad idea it is to separate us. Not throw a tantrum."

"It's that or just train and do D-Rank Missions for however long it'll take to find the leak," Sasuke threw out, ignoring Naruto. "And this sounds like more fun."

"Arg, no more D-Rank Missions, please," Naruto begged. "You'll do it won't you, Suzue-chan? Please?"

The girl stared at him for a long moment then turned her gaze to Sasuke.

"You don't have to. The Dobe and I won't go if you don't," Sasuke told her as she looked down at her hands that twisted together.

"You'll resent me."

Sasuke blinked, not sure he heard her right as Naruto said, "Huh?"

"I'll do it," Suzue said looking up at them with a wide smile. Sasuke frowned at it because it didn't look right, somehow, but he wasn't sure how it was wrong. "We'll take the Exams together. It'll probably be fun like Sasuke said. And anything is better than D-Ranks, right?"

"You said it!" Naruto crowed, pumping a fist into the air. "This is so awesome!"

"We should talk about what we need to do to prepare for the Exams tomorrow," Suzue suggested. 'Were her hands shaking?' Sasuke wondered.

"Er? Prepare?" Naruto questioned. Suzue huffed and started explaining what they needed to do to prepare to the blond.

Sasuke threw in his two cents about what they should prepare for the Exams and what they could expect. Though Suzue was the best at that since one of her older siblings had already gone through the Chunin Exams so she had some idea of how it played out. After an hour of planning, Naruto took off to go do his own preparing with plans to meet up tomorrow around noon to have lunch, train a little then head to the Exam room. Sasuke grabbed Suzue's sleeve to prevent her from running off as well. She turned her attention to him and looked weary.

"You don't have to, Naruto and I can survive not doing the Chunin Exams now," Sasuke told her, even if he did really want to go through it.

"I know how much this means to you two," Suzue shrugged. "I'm fine. I just..."

"You want to stay as a team too right?" Sasuke asked, turning his head away in an effort to hid his expression. "None of us want to be split up. You're not alone in this."

"...Guess not."

The tone made Sasuke turn back to Suzue to see an odd expression on her face. Then she was hugging him. Sasuke froze. He had been hugged before. Mostly by girls in his fanclub throwing themselves at him. But Suzue had always respected his space. He couldn't remember a hug being this warm since before...

"Thank you," Suzue whispered to him. He grunted and could feel his ears burning. A part of him wished that he could bring his arms up to wrap around her, to return the hug. But something in him couldn't bring himself to do it. He compromised and grabbed at the fabric at her waist. She smelled like metals.

Then she was pulling away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Suzue was blabbering.

"It's fine, just don't make a habit of it. Or do it in front of the Dobe," Sasuke grunted turning so his back was to her. At least this way she couldn't see his face turn red.

"You're a good friend."

"Whatever. Don't go telling people about it."

"Yes, heaven help us if your fanclub ever get word of that," Suzue laughed and something in Sasuke unclenched at the sound. He still didn't know why he liked the overly loud laugh that never seemed to fit with quite, shy Suzue. But he did.

Her smile wasn't forced anymore either.

"So I'll see you tomorrow for lunch?" Sasuke asked after a moment of peaceful silence.

"Yes, and we'll make sure Naruto filled out his form correctly," Suzue grinned. Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned to leave, somewhat pleased that Suzue was doing better when he felt a pull at his armband. Turning back to Suzue he noticed that she had grabbed it.

"We'll always be a team, right? No matter what happens? Nothing's going to come between the three of us?"

Something seemed to hang in the air. Sasuke could almost feel like this was some defining moment of his life. What that defining moment was, he had no idea. But...whatever this moment was, he knew he didn't have to think much on the answer.

"Yes, the three of us will always be a team. No matter what."

* * *

"Is someone playing a prank?" Naruto asked in a low tone as they came up to the second floor. "That room should be 201 right?"

Glancing to where Naruto had gestured, Suzue squinted at the sign that was blurry in her vision. Which either meant her eyesight was going or the sign was under a genjutsu that she didn't believe was real. She was going with the latter as she had a vague sense of familiarity with what was happening. She was pretty sure this happened in the manga.

"Yes, I think this is sort of a pretest kind of a thing because the guys blocking the door are under a henge and I think are Chunin," Suzue answered looking back at her teammates. "I vote we just slip by them."

"Gets rid of all the weak links I guess," Sasuke agreed with a glance at the boy who had just been hit. It was Lee, Suzue recognized after a moment. "Let's go then."

They slipped away without drawing too much attention to themselves and made it to the third floor.

"So you think those two were chunin?" Naruto asked throwing his arms behind his head. "Why?"

"The metal I was sensing was off for what I was physically sensing. Based on the metal they should be taller than they appeared. Adults. I guess they could have still been genin but...there's an age limit for being in the Chunin Exams."

"Does it even matter?" Sasuke asked shoving his hands into his pockets. "Whatever it was, we passed, those idiots didn't."

"I suppose you're right on that," Suzue smiled.

"Because we're totally awesome!" Naruto threw in with a punch into the air.

"Wait!"

The three tensed and turned as one shifting just a bit so that they were covering each other's backs as they faced the voice that had called out to them. It was Rock Lee.

"What do you want?" Naruto shouted at him with a scowl. "We have places to be!"

"My name is Rock Lee. And would like a sparring match with the dark-haired one," Lee introduced. "May I have your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Lee gave a firm nod. "As I thought, you are this year's Rookie of the Year. I will like to see the 'genesis' of the Last of the Uchiha Clan."

"You're challenging me, even though you know who I am?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yes! I wish to test myself."

Sasuke didn't answer right away. Instead, he tilted his head to Suzue. "What do you think Suzue? Will we get into trouble for fighting before the Exam?"

Suzue gave Sasuke a glance, slightly surprised that Sasuke wasn't just jumping into it. "I don't actually know. But it is a possibility. Not to mention we are short on time. And do you want to go into this test with a possible injury that could have been avoided?"

Sasuke gave a grunt then turned back to Lee who was watching curiously. "Sorry, but I decline at this time. Perhaps at another time like after the Exams."

"Ah? What?" Lee blinked taken aback by the outright refusal. "I doubt it would take very long."

"Yeah, I'm sure Teme could wipe your ass with his eyes closed, but he doesn't need to prove himself to you," Naruto taunted. Then stuck his tongue out at the other boy like the mature little adult he was. Suzue couldn't stop her eye roll at the childishness of it.

"Let's go," Suzue suggested turning to start heading towards the classroom they were supposed to be heading to.

"There was one other thing!" Lee called out before the three of them could leave.

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

"Can I have your name, beautiful?"

He...he...he couldn't be talking about her...could he?

"Wha? Are you hitting on Suzue-chan?! If so back off! She's not interested!" Naruto snarled taking a step towards Lee.

"I think the lady can speak for herself," Lee threw back before focusing his attention on her. And...he was talking about her, to her. Breath caught in her throat, because really? Really?!

"Like the Dobe said," Sasuke growled also took a step forward so the both of them were now mostly blocking her from Lee's view. "She's not interested. Now get lost."

"Hey, Beautiful Flower, I would be honored if you go out on a date with me!" Lee asked, ignoring the boys.

Something in Suzue snapped. She spun on her heels and started walking away. Various calls of surprise and waits sounded behind her as well as the scampering of feet. The next second had her teammates walking beside her with various looks of concern and surprise.

"Are you alright, Suze-chan?" Naruto asked after a moment.

"Fine. We have an Exam to get to right?"

"Yeah..." Sasuke answered.

"Aren't you going to answer me?!" Lee called out from behind them. Suzue just kept walking and didn't acknowledge him.

Naruto glanced at her then at Lee shouted, "She's not interested! For the last time!" then turned back to her. "Are you really just going to ignore him?"

"Ignore who?" Suzue asked and even she could tell her tone was really snippy.

"LEE!" a shout sounded behind them. The boys glanced back and got twin looks of horror on their faces that made Suzue guess that Gai had shown up.

"You know what, I'm with Suzue-chan, let's get to the Exams," Naruto declared. Sasuke grunted in agreement.

Two minutes later found them in front of the classroom door, Kakashi waiting for them with an eye-smile.

"Great! All three of you showed up."

"What? You try to trick us into thinking that it was up to each of us to take the Exams when it's really a team decision?" Sasuke drawled looking unimpressed.

"Mah, something like that," Kakashi smiled at them. "But I'm glad the three of were able to work with each other to come to the decision to take the Exam together. That already shows that you have the potential to become Chunin."

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered. Then his grin fell into a more serious expression, "Hey, we're still gonna be a team even after we make Chunin, right?"

"For a bit, maybe," Kakashi shrugged. "You'll have to make Chunin first before worrying about that."

"Whatever, you're no help," Sasuke grumbled.

"But with that said! Good luck you three and try to stay alive," Kakashi offered as words of encouragement before he stepped to the side to allow them to go through the door.

The three of them took a step forwards before Naruto paused and turned back to Kakashi. "Hey, there was this Genin that was...that was..."

"Harassing," Sasuke supplied.

"Yeah! There was this Genin harassing Suzue-chan trying to get her to be his boyfriend!"

"Oh? What's his name? I'll have to speak to his Sensei about it," Kakashi offered his shoulders tensing up and eye growing hard.

"Er..."

"Rock Lee," Sasuke answered when it became clear that Naruto had forgotten the name.

"Hmm, I know who he's sensei is. I'll speak to him. Let me know if he bothers you again, Suzue-chan," Kakashi offered with a pat on her head.

Suzue felt herself twitch. "Whatever. He's not worth my attention."

Rude, but Suzue was tried of dealing with preteen boys or young teenage boys wanting her as a girlfriend or showing interest in her in that way. Maybe if everyone was at least five years older, it would be less creepy. Or if she wasn't in a body that was still very much a child's body. And that wasn't even touching the fact that she nearly thirty years more of memories that made her that much older than everyone. Just, romance or anything like that was currently just weird and not something she wanted to deal with until everyone around her were adults. Maybe then she could get around the fact that she was mentally older than everyone around her.

Once her anger simmered down, she was sure she'll feel guilty over being rude to Lee as he had been a character she had liked. But for the moment, annoyance was winning out.

"Alright! Let's kill it!" Naruto declared and threw open the doors for the three of them to enter the classroom.

All three of them paused as they took in everyone in the room, all of whom seemed to have turned to stare at them. Naruto let out a breathless, 'Wow,' as they absorbed the hundred plus teenagers glaring at them. And they were all teenagers. Or at least appeared to be teenagers. In fact, Suzue was beginning to see that the Rookie Nine were some of the youngest people in this room.

Metal was approaching Sasuke and Suzue Pushed on it to deflect it from her dark haired teammate on reflex. A grunt of pain had Suzue turning towards the metal source only to find that Ino was now on the ground rubbing her butt. Blinking at the girl, it took a moment for Suzue to realized that she had just Pushed Ino because she had been running up to Sasuke. The lavender haired girl felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as Ino realized that Sasuke was now staring at her on the ground.

Ino let out a squeak before rearranging her body into what Suzue supposed was to be a cute but sexy pose with a flirty wink at Sasuke. "Seems like I tripped over your beauty Sasuke-kun."

"...Seriously? That was horrible," Suzue blurted out before thinking better of it. "Did you get it from a fortune cookie?"

Naruto burst out into snickers that he tried to hide behind a hand. And Ino was now glaring at Suzue instead of giving Sasuke bedroom eyes. At least, Suzue thought that look had supposed to be bedroom eyes.

"Well, I can see where Billboard could think you are a boy," Ino drawled back. "All muscles and no chest, easy mistake, even in a skirt. Do I need to worry about my virtue with you?"

"No..." Suzue drawled out as her mind blanked to the point where she suddenly had no filter because her mind could not compute the conversation that she was having with the blonde girl. "But I suddenly fear for mine with you around. Sasuke's too."

"What?! Of course, Sasuke-kun doesn't have to worry about his virtue around me! I'll wait until he gives me permission for that," Ino informed the boy as she slid up to him with a flutter of her eyes. Suzue was pretty sure it was only force of will that had Sasuke staying in place and not taking a step away from the pushy blonde.

"Gods, Ino you're so loud," a lazy voice drawled making everyone turn to see Shikamaru and Chouji walking up to them. "And you three are here, too? What a drag."

"The idiot three!" Naruto laughed before turning a weary look at Ino. "Why are you calling Suzue-chan a boy?"

"Because she looks like one...and she doesn't like boys," Ino answered with a flap of her hand. "But, sorry to tell you, you may be cute but I'm not interested in boys who could pass as girls too, Suzue-kun. So you're out of luck on that."

"Huh?" Naruto frowned looking at Ino then Suzue. "I don't get it."

"...Whatever, if you want to refer to me as male, be my guess, I don't care," Suzue sighed before turning to Naruto. "And if you want me to explain that, I'll do it after the Exam. It's not that important at the moment."

"Alright," Naruto agreed leveling a glare at Ino who in turn made a face at him. Why did everyone have to be so childish around her? Oh right, they were children.

"Yahoo! Found you guys!"

The two teams turned to see the rest of the 'Rookie Nine' come up to them.

"Wow! We're all here!" Kiba grinned, showing off his canine fangs as Hinata whispered a quiet, "Hello."

"Seriously? You guys are here too?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Ha! I see how this is. All nine rookie Genin are taking the exams, eh..." Kiba noted.

"Just the ones from our class," Suzue muttered under her breath as she eyed Team Eight. She guessed Kiba really had coined that term.

"Whatever," Kiba waved off, apparently having heard her. "But I wonder how far we'll all get, eh, Sasuke-kun?"

"You are mighty confident, Kiba," Sasuke smirked back at him. Suzue recalled that Kiba had been one of the few people able to keep up with Sasuke in Taijutsu spars back in the Academy. She guessed that was a good enough reason for Sasuke to engage in trash talk with him. And he could ignore Ino by turning his attention to Kiba.

"We trained a great deal, so...we won't be losing to you guys!" Kiba laughed, confidence just oozing out of him.

"Shut up!" Naruto snapped at Kiba. "You guys won't even beat me much less Sasuke! Or Suzue-chan!"

Hinata mumbled something too quietly for Suzue to hear and apparently Naruto didn't hear either as he was giving the shy girl the same look he gave Suzue when she didn't speak clearly enough for him, or he wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, you guys!" A voice called out making the nine of them turn to locate it. "You should all be a little quieter."

And there was Kabuto standing there. Suzue realized that she had forgotten about him even though she now remembered trying to come up with ideas on how to kill him in the Forest of Death while wondering if she could even pull that off. Would killing Kabuto now throw things too far off in the future? Probably. She was pretty sure he was important in some way other than bringing the Zombie Apocalypse to the Shinobi world. A better question would be what would change if he died now.

"You guys must be the nine rookies...fresh out of the academy, right?" Kabuto continued as Suzue pondered what to do about him; if there was anything she could do about him. "Carrying on like that with cute faces...seriously. This isn't a field trip, you know."

"Who are you? Acting all haughty!" Ino asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm Kabuto. Anyway, take a look around you."

A glance around the room again showed that various groups were glaring at them. Suzue twitched a little but none of the teams that were glaring seemed familiar at all. Would they even pass the first round? How many teams passed again? 21?

Kabuto was speaking again.

"Behind you...those guys are from Amegakure. They're short tempered. Everyone's on edge already, waiting to take the Chunin Exam. I thought I'd warn you guys before you get your ass kicked by them. I guess it can't be helped. You Rookies are totally clueless. You guys remind me of my old self."

'What? Someone who got their ass kicked for being naïve and cute?' Suzue thought to herself as everyone absorbed Kabuto's words. What was Kabuto's backstory anyways? She couldn't remember much about it. She was pretty sure Danzo had been involved somehow. All she knew was that she doubt Kabuto had been 'like them' at their age.

"So what? You're a hot shot because isn't your first Exam?" Ino inquired with a flip of her hair.

"No, not really," Kabuto shrugged. "It's my seventh time. This exam is held twice a year, so this is my fourth year."

"So I guess you know a lot about the Exam? Or you're just lame," Ino huffed.

"Lame," Suzue muttered making Sasuke flick his eyes towards her. She picked up on the amused tilt of his mouth.

"Well, I have gathered a bit of information on the Exams," Kabuto acknowledged as he pulled a stack of cards from his hip pouch.

"That's kinda cool," Naruto grinned.

"And since I'm feeling generous to today," Kabuto smiled at all them. "I'll share some of my info with these ninja info cards!"

"So dramatic," Suzue muttered under breath as she eyed the cards Kabuto was holding up for them to see. Did these things ever come up again?

"Never heard of them," Shikamaru drawled.

"Well," Kabuto started as he crouched down to lay the deck on the floor. Everyone else crouched down to peer closer to them as well. "They are basically cards that have information coded into them through the usage of chakra. It took me four years to gather all this info into these cards. There are almost 200 cards. They are blank to the eyes but the only way to read the info of the card..."

Kabuto trailed off as he spun on of the cards under the tip of his finger and then channeled chakra into them.

"What are you doing?" Ino asked leaning forward.

"By using my own personal chakra I can activate the card to reveal the information it contains. Each set is linked to its possessor, for example, cards like this one..."

The card activated to reveal a map of the elemental countries with various graph bars.

"Whoa, that's awesome! It's some kind of combination map and bar graph! What kind of information is this?" Ino demanded as she oohed and awed over the cards. Suzue supposed that for someone in intelligent gathering this would be cool. Though Suzue had to admit that this was sort of cool too. She had always liked looking at graphs like this.

"It shows the number of test takers and participating shinobi nations, and the number of applicants from each respective village is individually displayed," Kabuto explained as Suzue peered closer at the card. Something seemed...off.

Ame. The village-hidden-in-the-rain. Suzue was fairly certain that village was the one that Pain/Pein, whatever he had called himself, ruled. The sort-of leader of Akatsuki. And she was pretty sure no one knew that. Hanzo the Salamander was the one said to be ruling at the moment. He had defeated the three Sannin and given them their nickname back in the Second War. She remembered learning that he was the leader of Ame in the Academy which had confused her until she recalled that Jiraiya had been the one to unearth that Hanzo was dead and someone else was ruling Ame. At least she was pretty sure it had been Jiraiya and that had lead to his death. Or something along those lines. Plot memory was already starting to get hazy and she hadn't been as familiar with the later part of the series as she was the first part.

What bothered Suzue about Ame though was the fact that they had sent seven teams to the chunin exams. Ame wasn't one of the major villages, they were a minor shinobi village. A village that had sprung up because the people who founded it hadn't wanted to be a part of any of the major villages. Their shinobi body count should be a lot less than the major villages. Of the three other minor villages, Waterfall and Grass had sent two teams each and Sound had sent one team. Which made sense. Waterfall and Grass having less shinobi's to send out and Sound being so new that this was probably the first Chunin Exam they had been invited to. But Ame had sent seven teams.

Suna was the only other major village to be participating in this Exam. Which made sense as Iwa would never send its teams to Konoha, just as Konoha would never send teams to Iwa. Too much bad blood between the two villages and if it hadn't been for the Fourth Hokage, one Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash, the two villages would probably still be at war with each other. Minato had decimated Iwa's forces to the point that Suzue was almost certain they were still rebuilding it over a decade later.

Kumo, on the other hand, dropped the kunai on their foot when they had tried to kidnap Hinata and ruin the peace talks. Not that Suzue was supposed to know it was Hinata as no names or even what the incident had even been had been mentioned in class. But still, the end result was that peace talks fell through and through Neji's dad had made it so that an outright war didn't happen, Konoha was locked in a 'Cold War' so to speak with Kumo. Neither of them were going to be sending their Shinobi to the other for Chunin Exams.

Then there was Kiri which was locked in their own civil war. Suzue wouldn't be surprised to learn that no other nation, major or minor, ever sent ninja there.

So Suna and Konoha were the only two major villages in this Exam. And Suna had sent ten teams to the Exam. That was only three teams more than Ame. Suzue thought that Suna might be the smallest of the major villages, she couldn't recall if this tidbit was just a headcanon from her other life or an actual fact from this world, but did it really mean that Suna and Ame had a Shinobi populace that was similar in numbers?

It just seemed really odd.

And Suzue realized that she no use for this information or conclusions. So what if Ame had seven teams and Suna had ten? There was no purpose for her having this information. With a sigh, Suzue filed the interesting but currently pointless information away and drew another oddity that Kabuto had dropped on her.

He had said - no, he implied that he had taken every exam offered in the last four years. But that wasn't possible. Not with the political climate the way it was. So was he lying? Was she supposed to pick up on that discrepancy of his? Should she say anything about it? Was it just a slip of his tongue?

"Do you have cards having detailed info on certain individuals?" Sasuke's voice pulled her out of her head that had been running in overdrive for the last minute.

"Hah...Are there ones you're concerned about?" Kabuto asked in a bit of a taunting tone. But he picked up the card with the map and graph to shuffle it back into the deck as he continued on. "Yes, the information for the applicants this time around is not perfect, but it is still coded in and saved...including your team. If you share any data you have on this person who interested you, I'll be happy to look him up and let you know what I've so far."

"Gaara from Sunagakure and Rock Lee from Konoha," Sasuke answered making Suzue blink at Sasuke.

"Why him?" Suzue asked before she could stop herself.

"To level the playing field, he knew about me already," Sasuke answered easily enough picking up on which him she had been referring to.

"Sounds good to me," Kabuto smiled at them. "And you know their names! That makes it much easier."

Kabuto swiped two cards from his deck and seemingly random and peered at the cards.

"Just show me," Sasuke grunted when Kabuto took too long to show the cards.

The silver haired teen grinned and laid the cards on the ground before explaining. "First up is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Missions: Twenty D-Rank, Eleven C-Rank. His sensei is Maito Gai...And his taijutsu skill has grown exponentially this past year. He has no other talents worth mentioning. Last year he gained attention as a talented new genin, but he didn't participate in the Chunin Exams. This is his first time taking the Chunin Exams. Same as you guys, his teammates are Hyuga Neji and Tenten.

"Next is Gaara of the Sand. Missions: Eight C-Ranked, one B-Ranked. Wow, he did one of the B-Ranked missions as a genin...He's a Shinobi from a different land and he's a rookie, so there's no further information about him, but...it seems he has returned from all of his missions uninjured."

Suzue really wanted to know how these cards worked. If there were other decks or if this was just unique to Kabuto. She supposed she could talk to Kakashi about it when she could. Maybe he'll know something about it.

"Could you look up someone else?" Suzue asked before Kabuto could say something else or she thought better of this.

"Sure," Kabuto agreed easily enough shuffling Gaara's and Lee's cards back in the deck. "Have a name?"

"Kekkei Genkai," Suzue corrected, "Kinzoku Idōnin."

"Not as ideal, but it'll work," Kabuto noted before swiping a card from the deck. Suzue watched as he looked at the card and a flash of surprise crossed his face before he looked at her with a grin. "A bit self-centered, aren't we?"

"May I see the card?" Suzue asked, ignoring the twisting of her stomach. Kabuto set the card off the ground, facing her so everyone could see. Her official ID photo peered up at her the card along with her stats.

"What the hell? You asked him to look you up?!" Ino screeched.

"Wanted to see how accurate his information was," Suzue answered as her face flushed. "He could be lying about the information he had gathered you know. Lie to make himself look better."

"A valid reason," Kabuto agreed easily. "So, is my information on you accurate?"

Suzue studied the card for a long moment and had to admit, Kabuto's info on her was nearly spot on. She was pretty sure some of her skill levels were inflated a little but overall, it was correct. Including the upgraded ranks of their missions.

"Why do you three have an A Ranked mission to your names?" Shikamaru asked having been looking at the card. "That can't be right."

"Nope, it's not," Suzue answered before Naruto could even draw in a breath to tell the Wave Mission story to him. "We've done two C-Ranked and seven D-Ranked. So I guess your information isn't all that good."

What was she doing?

"...Seems so," Kabuto said after a long moment. "But my information can be a little bit off for first timers in the Exams."

"I see," Suzue acknowledged. Kabuto seemed to be actually looking at her now. Studying her. Gods, she had just painted a target on herself with that stunt, hadn't she?

"Still," Kabuto continues as he slipped her profile card into his deck. "Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki, Oto...This year every hidden village invited has sent outstanding Genin here to compete. I don't know much about the Otogakure. It is a minor village of a small nation that was created last year, so there isn't much information, but all of the other competing villages are well-respected, home to some formidably powerful shinobi."

"T-that kind of makes you lose your confidence..." Hinata murmured.

Suzue frowned and glanced at Hinata. Did she really think that other villagers would send mediocre Genin into the Exam? Konoha was sort of the only one that could get away with that kind of mindset this time around because of home field advantage. Hence why they could get away with sending in 'Rookie' Genin. But even they weren't really 'mediocre' as most of them were clan heirs or under special circumstances that made them overpowered in a way.

"So what are you saying?" Naruto asked after a moment of silence.

"That it's not just Lee and Gaara that are at the top, all the shinobi villages have selected their elite Genin to participate in this Exam. So it's not going to be easy."

Silence descended on the group as they absorbed that information. Suzue glanced at her former classmates. It seemed like she was the only one who wasn't surprised by this information. Well, Shikamaru didn't look that surprised, more resigned to his fate than anything else. Then Naruto turned to face the entire group of Chunin wannabes and pointed a finger at them while striking a pose.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I won't lose to any of you bastards! Got that?!"

Suzue facepalmed while Ino screamed at her, "Hey! What's with him?!"

"Naruto's Naruto," Suzue explained from between her fingers as she peered at her blond teammate while he threw his arms behind his head.

"Ah~ That felt great!" Naruto grinned at the room. Sasuke snorted.

"'You won't lose to those bastards'?" Kiba repeated with a snort. "Those are some big words. What a show-off."

"What a moron," Shikamaru grunted looking highly annoyed. "He just turned everyone into his enemy."

"Aren't you going to do something about him?" Ino demanded of Suzue.

"Like what?" Suzue asked as she lowered her hands from her face.

"Tell him he's an idiot. Discipline him! Something!" Ino shouted at her. Suzue stared at her. "What?!"

"Fine," Suzue said after a very long moment and a very bad idea. Well, she had already painted one target on her back with Kabuto...so...

Snagging Sasuke over with one arm linked with one of his arms, Suzue threw her other arm around Naruto's neck. With her teammates on either side of her, Suzue took a deep breath and in the loudest voice her former classmates had ever heard from her shouted, "Like he said Team Awesomeness right here is totally going to kick all your asses!"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto agreed with a laugh and punching the air.

Sasuke snorted but didn't pull away thus adding his agreement into their declarations.

"Ino, did you body swap with Suzue-san?" Shikamaru asked the blonde.

"No..." Ino answered in a disbelieving tone. "Maybe a henge?"

"You alright?" Sasuke whispered quietly to Suzue.

"I might throw up," Suzue confessed as Naruto decided that he liked Suzue's idea of half hugging him so threw his arm around her shoulders too.

"Well, if you do, aim at Ino," Sasuke responded as he unlinked their arms but let his hand catch her sleeve in a loose grip.

Suzue snorted and threw Sasuke a smile with a slight nod of agreement. She felt lighter surprisingly and really wasn't that nauseous so Ino was probably safe from being thrown up on. For the moment.

Then metal was moving. Suzue was moving as her eyes snapped up to the crowd to get a visual on the moving metal. She pushed Sasuke a step back and to the side away from where the metal was moving towards them and he went easily enough as she pulled Naruto along with her. The blond was able to keep his balance with only a bit of a stumble and easily obeyed Suzue's movement.

Two sources. One from above and other coming in low. Both heading towards Kabuto. Suzue debated for a split second about helping but...she didn't want to. There was no reason. And helping may reveal her hand much too soon, so to speak. So she just pulled her teammates out of the line of fire and watched as Kabuto was maneuvered into the punch of one of the sound ninja. The Mummy looking one.

Kabuto dodged the punch to the stomach but a moment later his glasses cracked and the lens fell out in shards of glass.

"Did that guy hit him with something else?" Sasuke asked with a glance at Suzue.

"Village of Sound. Makes sense that they would have a sound attack. There's a metal something on his arm. It's designed...I think it's used to increase sound vibrations or something like that," Suzue explained as best she could base on what she could see and what she half remembered from the Story.

Shikamaru was now staring at her. "And I thought he just got grazed or something and we didn't see it."

Then Kabuto was on his knees throwing up.

"What? Sound can do that?" Naruto asked turning to look at Suzue apparently taking her word as fact instead of theory.

Suzue shrugged. "I pretty sure, yeah."

"Oh, hey, you alright Kabuto?" Naruto called out to him but didn't let go of Suzue to go over to him.

"I'll be fine, thanks," Kabuto called back as he wiped his mouth.

"What a pathetic fight, I thought you'd be strong since you're like our senpai, four years weren't enough, eh senpai?" Mummy taunted.

"You better add this to your stupid cards! That we, Sound ninja, will become chunin this year!" the other boy of the sound team declared.

Before anyone could reply to that statement, a smoke bomb went off on the back and Suzue registered metal arranged to make her think that several shinobi had just appeared within the smoke.

"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!" a deep voice shouted from within the smoke. Several of the wannabe Chunin were shouting various forms of 'what's going on?' as the smoke started to clear. When the smoke cleared, they were greeted by a large group of adults in gray jumpsuit-like uniforms. Ibiki stood at the head of the group.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I'm Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the first test of the Chunin Exams," the head of Torture and Intelligence introduced to the room at large. Then he shifted his attention from the whole group to the Sound team in the back. "You guys, from the Otogakure! No doing as you please before the exam! Or do you want to be failed already?"

"I apologize," Mummy boy offered. "It's our first time taking the Exams, so we got a bit excited..."

"Is that so?" Ibiki hummed. "Then it's high time someone laid down a few ground rules, shall we? From this point forward, there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officers. And even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant's life is strictly forbidden.

"Any of you little piglets who break that rule are out of this Exam. Disqualified immediately. No second chances. Do I make myself clear here?"

Silence rang throughout the classroom until the Oto-nin whose hair looked like a broom snorted and responded with, "This exam seems to be a piece of cake!"

That caused all the adults in the back of the class laugh.

"We will now begin the first part of the Chuunin Exams," Ibiki announced once the laughter quieted. "Turn in your written applications, take one of these seating assignment cards and report directly to the seat indicated. When everyone's seated, we'll pass out the written part of the test."

"A paper test?!" Naruto shouted turning to Suzue with a horrified look on his face.

"You'll be fine, Naruto-kun," Suzue tried to reassure.

"But, it's a paper test!" Naruto protested as everyone else started getting into the line to hand in their applications.

"And you are the greatest prank master in Konoha," Suzue reminded. "You can't be beaten by a simple paper test. Hasn't beaten you before. You did become a ninja after all."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Naruto nodded. "I'm totally going to beat this test!"

"Yes, I'm sure you will," Suzue agreed and added silently, 'Even if the test is blank.'

* * *

I'm not going to able to give estimated updates. Work has me working 50-60 hours a week and it's a physically demanding job too. I'm too tired from working to do much of anything, which is annoying. I'll try and get chapters up as soon as I can. But no more projected dates for updates, sadly.

If you haven't seen it yet, there's also a side story for Blackout now, called Side Stories for Blackout. So far is has one chapter of Team Seven bounding and one of a retelling of the Bell Test from Kakashi's POV.

You can also find me on Tumblr under the name lady-hachimitsu were I occasionally post stuff and do post when I update this story. Thank you everyone who reviewed, followed, and/or favorites for this story! They always make my day.


	9. Chapter 9 - Chunin Exams Part One

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto, but will claim Suzue and a few others.

Warnings: Same as before. And minmal editing done to this chapter...

Notes: Sorry, this took so freakin' long to get to y'all. I'm also updating two chapters, so if you're reading this first, you're good to go.

* * *

Looking over the test questions, Suzue was suddenly very impressed with Sakura. The lavender haired girl recalled from the story Sakura being able to answer all the questions on this test and it implying she had been able to answer all of them correctly. Furthermore, it had all been under forty-five minutes. Looking at the questions herself, Suzue knew she could answer them, if she was given a couple of hours to do said test. The fact that Sakura was able to do it with enough time to spar so Ino could copy the answers...

Yeah, Sakura had been totally underestimated as a Shinobi.

The girl was still a bitch though. Not that Suzue was ever going to say that out loud. Maybe.

Suzue glanced around the room again, locating Ino. She was in a position where she could hijack her body if she wanted but Suzue didn't know if the other girl would even do that. Ino had probably only targeted Sakura because she knew what Sakura's abilities were. Suzue really hoped that Ino wouldn't try and body swap her. The idea of it gave her the creeps.

Pencil scribbling on paper drew Suzue's attention to the Chunin plant sitting next to her. He was under a henge to make him look like a Genin but the metal Suzue was seeing didn't match with where she was sensing the metal. Easy enough to discern and she had picked up five others in the room with them. So two teams that were really Chunin plants. Suzue wondered if any of them were going to be moving on to the Second Exam at all.

With a sigh, Suzue leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the test paper in front of her, and started twirling her pencil around her fingers. She was fairly confident this test was going to go the same way it had in the Story. Therefore, she knew that she could just sit here for the next forty-five minutes until the tenth question was asked. Going Naruto's route and leaving her test blank. After all, the test itself wasn't that important. Maybe. She didn't actually know how they determined who became Chunin and if it was just based on the Finals or if everything from the Exams was taken into account.

'That's something I probably should have looked into before starting the Exams,' Suzue mused to herself.

Biting her lip, Suzue admitted to herself that she didn't _want_ to just sit here for the time allotted. She wanted to see if she could really 'cheat' to get the answers without being kicked out of the room. She remembered one fanfic she read about Naruto 'cheating' through all the Exams by finding loopholes. The one he found for this exam was to just get up walk over to another person (she was pretty certain it had been Kabuto) and just swapped the papers then go back to his seat. Technically he hadn't done anything wrong as the rules didn't totally dismiss cheating, just being caught doing it a certain amount of times. But it really hadn't been in the spirit of the rules. In the story, Naruto had gotten away with it because he had only been 'caught' cheating once thus, couldn't get kicked out.

Suzue had no idea if that would really work. And she wasn't brave enough to be that bold. Thus she had to come up with something a bit more stealthy. But the idea behind that was appealing. Especially since there was a Chunin plant sitting next to her that she could just swap the paper from. What she needed was a distraction. One big distraction.

A plan formed in her mind. Suzue forced herself to take a deep breath before leaning over her paper and start writing, looking like she had finally started working on the answers. She was really just writing nonsense in the answers boxes. Including her useless information that she had come upon while talking to Kabuto. She had no idea of it would be useful for anyone else but at least she would have passed it on. Occasionally she would flip the paper over and scribble something on the back as well before flipping it back over to continue filling in the 'answers'.

At about twenty minutes into the test, the first team got disqualified. It was only after that team had left the room that Suzue realized she probably could have used that as her distraction but...at least she had a planned distraction for herself to use. After that first team, people started being caught left and right it seemed. Some of the Chunin hopefuls tried to protest but didn't get very far in it before the Chunin had them out the door. At any rate, Suzue was grateful she wasn't actually trying to do the test. She would never have been able to complete it with all the commotion that seemed to be going on in the room.

Flipping her test paper so that the back side was facing up, Suzue scribbled something about how it was impossible to take part in every Chunin Exam and started on her distraction. They only had about three minutes left till they get the tenth question but that should be more than enough time for Suzue. She forced herself not to look up at the blackboard behind Ibiki and Pulled on the screws holding said blackboard up. Just enough to loosen it from the wall. It took longer than Suzue was expecting but she jumped in surprise along with everyone else when the board came crashing to the ground.

As everyone's eyes jerked towards the board, including the Chunin watching them, Suzue swapped the papers around and put a minor genjutsu on her test so that it looked like his and his test now looked like hers. Breathing heavily and heart pounding in her chest she listened to Ibiki order everyone back to their test and that they had one minute left. None of the Chunin called out her number saying that she was disqualified as she bent back down to scribble something more on the back of the paper before flipping it back over to erase the plant's name and replace it with her own.

She looked over all the answers and made a few marks here and there to make it look like she was just finishing up some last minute adjustments on her answers before flipping it back over and resting her head on the desk. Done. She had done it! She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from giggling out loud.

"Listen up everyone! We will now start the tenth question!" Ibiki called out less than a minute later making Suzue sit up and pay attention. "Now before we start I will like to go over the added rules for this question."

That made the room buzz with annoyance and worry. Then Kankuro walked back into the room from having gone to the bathroom.

"Heh, nice timing. Was your doll playing beneficial?" Ibiki asked reminding Suzue that Kankuro had used one of his puppets to get the answers for himself.

"Just sit down," Ibiki ordered when the pause went on for too long. Then he continued on. "I'll now explain. These are the rules of desperation. First, for this tenth question, you must decide whether you will take it or not."

"Choose?!" Temari shouted. "What happens if we choose not to?!"

Ibiki smirked. "If you choose not to your points will be reduced to zero. You fail! Along with your two teammates."

"What does that mean?!" someone shouted. Suzue didn't recognize the voice this time.

"Then, of course, we will decide to take the question!" someone else shouted.

"And now, the other rule," Ibiki announced. "If you choose to take it and answer incorrectly...that person will lose the right to ever take the Chunin Selection Exams again."

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!" Kiba shouted with Akamaru barking in agreement. "These are guys here who have taken the exam before!"

Ibiki started laughing before addressing Kiba's question. "You guys were unlucky. This year it's my rules. But I am giving you a way out. those that aren't confident can choose not to take it...and then try again next year."

Ibiki paused to let that sink it. Suzue could feel her nerves increasing as everyone in the room started stressing out even more over this test. Her hands were shaking a little or at least felt like there were shaking. And she could feel beads of sweat drip down her back. At least she knew the real question being asked. If she didn't, Suzue just knew she would be in an even worst state. Though, she had to admit, even to herself that with the way her anxiety worked she probably wouldn't have gotten the nerve to actually ask to be removed from the test.

"Now, let's begin with the tenth question," Ibiki announced after a long pause. "Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

Tension rang through the air as everyone pondered if it was really worth taking the risk. Suzue swallowed hard before inhaling deeply, holding it, and exhaling the breath slowly. Seconds ticked by, longer and longer until someone stood up with their arm raised. It was one of the Chunin plants.

"I...I won't take it!" the Chunin plant declared. He bowed his head and offered a broken apologize to his teammates as his number was read out. That started the avalanche of people asking to drop out as well. One right after another.

It had been a smart move to have one of the plants be the first. After all, most people would follow after someone rather than carve the path themselves. By having the plant be the first it sent a message to others that it was okay to quit as well, if only in a subconscious manner. Everything about this test was more a mental examination than a physical one. Suzue had always wondered if there had been a genjutsu Ibiki had used to increase the tension in the room. There might have been, but if there was she couldn't tell. She was so used to dealing with her own nerves in stressful situations that she just didn't notice the difference. But a genjutsu that altered the targets state of mind would fit in with this Exam.

Pencil twirling in her hand she watched as Naruto raised his hand. For a brief panicked moment she wondered if she had changed Naruto to the point he would give up but even before he slammed his hand down on the desk, she knew that there was no way he would give up. He was just too stubborn for that. But the blond did have his own way of dealing with stressful situations. And that way usually meant shouting or declaring something to draw attention to himself.

Like an inspirational speech.

"Don't underestimate me! I will not run! I'll take it! Even if I'm a Genin forever! I'll become Hokage some other way if I have to. So I don't care! I am not afraid!"

Something in the air of the room broke. So maybe she had been right about the genjutsu after all. But she was now less nervous and felt lighter like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She could feel her lips twitch into a smile and noticed how nearly everyone else in the room seemed to become relax.

"I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit," Ibiki pointed out, staring intently at Naruto.

"I follow my unbending words. That's my ninja way," Naruto declared and Suzue could hear the grin in his voice.

For a long moment, Ibiki stayed silent. He glanced around the room but after Naruto's speech, Suzue doubted anyone was still questioning whether it was worth the risk or not.

"Good decisions," Ibiki announced drawing all attention to him. "Now, to everyone still remaining...I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

There were noised of surprise, disbelieve, and confusion throughout the room as everyone tried to process what had happened. Suzue just slumped into her chair with a sigh of relief that everything had gone as she thought it would. And that she hadn't gotten her team kicked out either. That was a plus.

"What do you mean congratulations?" Someone finally asked. "Don't we still have one more question? And what about the points?"

"There never was a tenth question. Or you could say that those two choices were the tenth question," Ibiki grinned and Suzue blinked at how much younger that made the man look. She wondered if Ibiki had been one of those really handsome guys before he got tortured. Though one could say he was still handsome, she supposed now that she thought about it and studied him in that light. He did have a nice face now that he was smiling. Even with the scars.

Then Suzue realized that she was actually checking out another human being and felt guilty about it. Being an adult in a child's body had left her feeling like she couldn't look at anyone that way. It was creepy if she looked at peers in that light as they were all still children barely entering teenage years. Looking at adults wasn't much better because a lot of them were still mentally younger than she was and it was her physical age that made it feel creepy. It made her feel like jailbait when she thought along those lines.

Over all it was something she didn't want to think about until she was an actual adult again. It was probably why she was reacting so negatively to anyone talking about romance and her in the same sentence. It was a problem she didn't want to deal with until later in life. Then she might think about looking at others that way and getting together with someone. Because it was something she wanted in life that she had never gotten in her last life.

She just couldn't think about it right now.

Suzue realized that Ibiki had been explaining the test and its purpose to the room while she had been struggling with her 'not-dealing-with-this-now' problem. She tuned back in as he was explaining about having to cheat.

"...As cheating targets, we had two or so Chunin who knew all the answers mixed into the crowd to help you guys out."

'There had been way more than two, liar,' Suzue snorted to herself as she glanced at the remaining three in the classroom. She guessed they were going into the second exam after all.

"Mah...It sure was tough finding that guy," someone mused.

"Yeah, I know," another agreed.

"Hahaha! I saw right through that! You'd have to be a moron to not notice that!" Naruto declared with an overly loud laugh. Suzue doubted that he had noticed, though she supposed he might have. Naruto's observation skills were all over the place. He could notice the most random thing and actually remember it, but at the same time be totally oblivious to something that was right in front of his face. She wondered if Naruto had trained himself to not notice things around him in an effort to ignore the cold stares he got from the villagers. If that was the case then it was something she should bring up with Kakashi and Sasuke. They could work on it with him overcoming that bad habit.

But would she have a chance?

Suzue stopped tapping her pencil on the desk at the thought. She had no idea if they would really be a team after the Chunin Exams were over. Itachi would show up leading Kakashi and Sasuke to end up in the hospital for a month, or however long, while Naruto was carted off to go find Tsunade. She had no idea how much time would be passing between events at that point. Then would the timeline go the manga route or the anime route?

Or would something different happen?

Swallowing at the turn her thoughts had gone, Suzue forced herself to stop thinking about it at the moment. She had more pressing matters like fight Orochimaru in the next Exam. She could worry about what happens after the Exams later.

Suzue realized that Ibiki was putting his bandana back on and that she had missed his reveal of how his head looked. Probably for the best as she really didn't need that image in her head. She tuned back into what he was saying, her fingers playing the pencil again.

"Question ten is the true purpose of this test."

"What do you mean?" Someone asked making Suzue sigh. This lecture was getting boring. Probably why her mind kept wandering to things she didn't really want to think about.

"Let me explain. The tenth question, the 'take it' or 'not take it' decision. Obviously, these were painful choices. Those who choose the latter fail along with their teammates. Those who choose to take it could lose the chance to ever take the test again. A true leap of faith," Ibiki explained. He glanced around the room and apparently thought that people still weren't getting it so continued on. "How about these two choices, say you guys become Chunin. Your mission is to steal a secret document. The amount of ninja, their abilities, etc, is unknown to you. And of course, there could be traps set all around you. Now, do you accept or not accept? Because you don't want to die because you don't want your comrades hurt, can you avoid the dangerous mission? The answer is no! No matter what the danger, there are missions you can't avoid. The ability to be courageous and survive any hardship...this is the ability needed to become a Chunin Captain. Those who can't put their destinies on the line, who cling to the uncertain future of 'there's always next year', and then walk away from their chance... Those pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices, don't have the right to become a Chunin! That's how I feel! Answered the tough tenth question correctly. You will be able to survive any troubles you face in the future. You have made it through the entrance. The first test of the Chunin Selection Exam is now finished. I wish you guys luck."

"Hell yeah! Wish us luck!" Naruto shouted with a punch in the air. Suzue snorted at Naruto's actions, being swept up into the inspirational speech Ibiki had just given them. It wasn't bad but...even if you have the courage and determination to move forward, you didn't always survive. That wasn't how life worked. Bad things happened to good people and the bad guys sometimes won. Suzue supposed the trick was to remember that until you were dead you still had your story to write and in her case, not even death could end her story.

Metal hurtling towards the window made Suzue glance towards it in time to see a ball of something crash through said window in a shower of glass. The ball unraveled with Kunia being thrown to anchor the cloth and Anko stood before them.

"You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!" Anko declared in a flourish. "I am the examiner for the second test! Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go! Follow me!"

Everyone just kind of stared at Anko in stunned silence. Slowly a flush started appearing on Anko's cheeks as no one said or did anything. Then Ibiki peeked out from behind the banner to say, "Bad timing."

Anko could turn really red. And it traveled down her neck towards her chest. Suzue noted that the mesh she wore as some sort of one piece outfit was not see through or anything revealing like that. Which made sense, because that mesh rubbing against skin hurt. There was probably a nude color cloth keeping the mesh from doing just that.

The outfit overall though was still rather suggestive.

"Ibiki!" Anko shouted at the man, getting over her embarrassment. "You left 26 teams?! The test was too easy this time!"

"This time there are a lot of outstanding ones," Ibiki smirked.

"Bah, that's fine," Anko waved off turning her attention to them. "I'll at least cut them in half in the second test. Ahhh, I'm getting excited, I'll explain everything once we've changed places, follow me."

* * *

Ibiki was still amused at Uzumaki's blank test when he ended up picking up another interesting one. It wasn't blank but even just a curious glance at the paper showed that whoever had done it hadn't even bothered to try and answer the questions. Confirming that the desk had belonged to one of the Chunin plants, Ibiki glanced at the top of the page to find that there was no name. Picking up the next paper revealed what he was sure was the plant's actual test. Only his name had been erased and a new name written in.

Higawara Suzue.

So Kenichi's niece had actually swapped papers to get the answers. A pretty gutsy move. And now he was sure she was the reason the blackboard had fallen from the wall. It had been a good distraction. He'll have to look at the notes to see what the Chunin observes had noted about her. Since the test with no name was filled with random crap, it implied that she had made it look like she had been working on the test throughout the entire thing. It was something worth noting.

Mildly curious now about the what the girl had written as her answers, Ibiki turned back to the other test paper to rescan it. He paused then flicked his eyes back to the top of the page to read more carefully through. He had thought she would have just written whatever had passed through her mind to make it look like she had attempted to answer the questions. Instead, all the answers were on her observations about one Kabuto and what she had learned from him. As well as her conclusions about that conversation she and her former classmates had with him.

Ibiki and his fellows for the Exam had been loosely listening in on the conversation but nothing had stuck out of the ordinary as anything other than a repeat tester trying to psych out the newbies. Which he supposed it could have still been, but the rambles Suzue had left on her test page suggested that it might have been more than that.

The fact that a Rookie Genin had picked up on the improbability of someone taking part in every Chunin Exams was mildly impressive. Though she might have been able to note that because she had older siblings she was close to. What was more astounding was the fact that she picked up on Ame sending more Genin than they should be able to. It clearly bothered her even though just as clearly she had no idea what to do with that information or what it meant. It was something intelligence was working on already and had been for the last few years. It was hard though since getting information from Ame was a pain in the ass on the best of days. Current theory was Ame was trying to become a major village which was interesting since no other village since the founding of Shinobi Villages had really tried. It would be interesting to see how that would play out if it was true.

Still, nothing was written here that was new or really even need. Except for the level of information that Kabuto had for his Ninja Cards. While they knew about the cards (in fact, every intelligent agent had their own version of the cards and they weren't that hard to come by if one knew where to look) it had been heavily implied that it had been more of a hobby for the boy than any real skill at intelligence gathering. The amount of info on the four cards Suzue had observed revealed a high level of information gathering that had Ibiki wondering why the boy had not been pinged for Intelligence.

He'll have to take a look at that one's file as well.

Folding Suzue's actual test paper up and slipping it into his coat, Ibiki went back to collecting the test. He wondered if the girl would be interested in Intelligence Analyzing. If she could conclude all this based on one conversation it would be interesting to see what she could do with actual proper training. Not just the very basics they taught at the Academy that almost always seemed to go over the kids' heads anyway. Nice to know that it didn't go over all there heads.

* * *

"Hey, Suzue-chan," Naruto drawl as he leaned into her space bubble. "Were you the reason the blackboard fell?"

"Hmm," Suzue hedged as she leaned away from her teammate. "Maybe?"

"Hehe, it was awesome! I wished I thought to do something like that," Naruto giggled leaning away from the girl with a wide grin.

"Why did you?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Needed a distraction large enough that it drew everyone's attention."

"Well, it did that," Sasuke snorted. "Why though?"

"To swap papers with the Chunin next to me," Suzue mumbled, she could feel her cheeks heat up.

"To swap papers?" Sasuke repeated with a long blink.

"And he didn't notice?" Naruto added with his own blink.

"I did it right before time ran out when the blackboard fell."

"I'm just surprised that you swapped tests with someone to cheat," Sasuke pointed out his lips tipping up in a half smile.

"Well, if you're going to cheat...cheat once and make it count," Suzue muttered.

"You're so cool," Naruto praised making the girl turn even redder and duck her head. "I should have figured it out then got up and swap with Kabuto or something."

"You would do that," Suzue snorted.

"Don't tell me you thought of doing that," Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Might have crossed my mind."

Sasuke let out a sigh and muttered something that might have been 'You've been around the Dobe too much' but Suzue wasn't too sure.

It was about that time everyone came to a halt because they had reached their destination. There was an audible gulp as everyone took in the massive trees and ominous feeling that surrounded the place.

"Welcome to the stage for the second test, Training Area 44. Also known as...'The Forest of Death'!" Anko announced to the group with a smirk.

Something had to be wrong with Suzue. Because looking into the dark, forbidding forest, and even knowing that sometime in the near future they were going to be attacked by Orochimaru, all Suzue wanted to do was go into that place and explore. Which she was fairly certain was the opposite of what everyone else wanted, including her teammates.

"And all of you will soon find out why it's nicknamed, 'The Forest of Death'," Anko continued.

Naruto huffed.

"'You'll soon find out, why it's called The Forest of Death'," Naruto mimicked in a high pitched tone before shouting, "You think that scares me?! That's nothing! I'm not afraid!"

"Yeah, you're spirited..." Anko smiled.

Suzue was moving before Anko could even finish throwing the Kunai she had drawn. The moment she let it fly, Suzue was Pulling it towards herself, catching it with a twirl, and leveling it at Anko who was now behind Naruto holding another Kunai to his neck.

"Quick reflexes, but your friend here is probably going to be one of the first to die," Anko taunted as she dug the Kunai a little into the blond's neck. Probably to make it bleed but instead of blood dripping from the wound, Naruto popped into a burst of smoke.

Suzue was treated to the sight of a surprised Anko who took a step back that put her right in the path of Sasuke who had his own Kunai out poised to dig into one of her kidneys. Suzue felt a weight on her back as the real Naruto appeared, leaning over her shoulder to stick his tongue out at Anko.

It was a testament to their teamwork and trust in one another that they had reacted to her reacting to an attack instead of waiting to see what was going on. After all, she was the most likely to notice an attack first.

"Well now," Anko grinned. "Seems Ibiki was right. You are a talented lot. But don't let it go to your heads! Some of you will die in this forest."

Silence as Anko walked back up to the front of the group and held up a stack of papers she pulled from her pocket.

"Speaking of you all dying horrible, painful, deaths," Anko announced cheerfully. "There's something I need to pass out to you all. You must sign theses agreement forms. If you don't then I will be held responsible for your deaths, and we just can't have that, can we?"

Everyone was blinking as they absorbed that tidbit of information. When no one spoke or protested, Anko continued, "I'm going to explain the second test, then you can sign these papers, and then each team will check in at that booth behind me."

Anko handed out the papers and Team Seven moved closer together instead of the spread out formation they had found themselves in when attacking Anko. Once all the papers were in the hands of the Chunin wannabes, Anko took front and center to begin explaining the test.

"Simply put, you will attempt the ultimate survival test. First I'll explain the area in which it will take place," Anko said as she held up a scroll and let it unravel. "Around practice area number 44, are 44 locked gates. Forest, river, and a tower in the center. From the gates to the tower is about 10 kilometers."

"Can you memorize that map with your Sharingan?" Suzue asked Sasuke in a low whisper. He nodded and his eyes flashed red before going back to black as Anko went on.

"During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a no rules scroll battle."

"Scroll?" someone from the crowd questioned.

"Yep!" Anko answered as she revealed two scrolls, one in each hand. "You will fight over these two scrolls, the 'Heaven' and the 'Earth'. There are 78 people here, meaning 26 teams. Half, 13, will get the 'Heaven' scroll. And the other 13 teams will each get the 'Earth' scroll. To pass this test, your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls. But there is a time limit. This second test will last 120 hours. Exactly five days."

"Five days?!" Suzue heard Ino screech.

"What about dinner?!" Chouji shouted with Ino.

"You're on your own," Anko shrugged, unsympathetic. "The forest is full of food. Just watch out for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants...And 13 teams passing is not likely. As the days go on the distance to the goal will become further, and the time to rest will become shorter. And the area is crawling with enemies. You won't get much sleep. So, not only will some fail by losing the scroll, but some will die from the harshness of the course.

"Now I'll talk about what will disqualify you. First, those that don't make it to the tower with both scrolls within the time limit. Second, those who lose a teammate or those who have a teammate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle, you will be in the forest for five days. And one more rule, you must not look inside the scroll until you make it to the tower."

"What happens if you do?!" Naruto asked with his 'thoughtfully confused' face.

"That will be a surprise for anyone who does," Anko smirked. "A Chunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your trustworthiness. That is it for the explanations. Exchange the three forms for your scrolls, then choose a gate to get ready for the start.

"And a final word of advice...Don't die!"

"When you finish filling out your forms, come here to get your scroll," one of the Chunin manning the booth shouted over the crowd before he pulled the curtain on the booth closed to keep everyone from knowing who got what.

Suzue grabbed her boys and pulled them away from the crowd a little way off for a team meeting that she hoped won't be overheard. She should ask Kakashi about privacy genjutsu for this type of thing.

"How do we want to play this?" Suzue asked the two of them once everyone was leaning in. "Do we want to go hunting for teams, then head to the tower once we get the right scroll? Or do we want to get to the tower as soon as possible and ambush teams until we get the right scroll?"

Both boys were silent for a long moment as they thought it over before Sasuke spoke up.

"How about both?"

"How would we do both?" Naruto asked tilting his head a little.

"There's a river that cuts through the forest directly to the tower. The river is going to the be attracting every team at one point or another. We could follow that to the tower, attacking every team that comes within range until we get the scroll then head to the tower," Sasuke explained. "We take it slow and if nothing comes up from that by the time we reach the tower, we'll just ambush people on their way in."

"That'll work. And it seems we get to ask for which we gate we enter..." Suzue mused.

"Alright! We'll prank everyone!" Naruto cheered a bit too loud but Suzue figured that comment would just add to the growing proof that Naruto was an 'idiot' to everyone.

"Alright, then, let's fill these out quickly and see if we can't get a gate we want," Suzue conclude before looking over her form. She quickly filled it out then helped Naruto with his.

Suzue was beginning to think that no one had taught Naruto how to read properly. He could but he had a lot of trouble with anything but the basics. Something to think about and mention to Sasuke at a later date if he hadn't figured it out yet. Maybe even Kakashi as well.

If they were still going to be a team after this.

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts the three of them headed to the booth to get their scroll and gate number. Suzue had all three of their forms in her hands and was the one to take the scroll from the Chunin. An Earth Scroll. As soon as she got it, she handed it off to Naruto who took it was a startled look.

"You sure?" Sasuke asked with a glance at Naruto. "He's painted a rather large target on his back."

"People won't think we would trust him with it for that reason. That and he can make multiple copies of himself, along with everything he has on him," Suzue pointed out.

"I see," Sasuke huffed as he understood her logic. A moment later Naruto grinned as he got it too. They left the tent with one of the gates next to the river like they wanted and the boys took their misdirection one step further by putting her in the middle of the three of them. That way it seemed like she was the one carrying the scroll.

Once everyone had gotten their scroll and gate number, Anko shouted, "Everyone follows an instructor and go to your gates! We will start in 30 minutes!"

"Well, let's get going," Suzue suggested and they went and found an instructor to take them to a gate.

* * *

Suzue had to admit, she only remembered the basics of what went on in the second Chunin Exam. She had been mostly focused on the fact that Orochimaru was going to attack them at some point in time. Within the first 24 hours was what Suzue was guessing at. And possibly in the evening. Vague memories of a team from Ame attacking them...no, they hadn't attacked just tried to impersonate Naruto to get their scroll. They had attacked later on the last day or something and that was how the original Team Seven passed.

Didn't Kabuto help them with that?

And didn't Sasuke save that Uzumaki girl? What was her name again? Karen? Karin?

When was that supposed to happen?

And the Sound team was to attack the morning after Orochimaru's attack, like at dawn or something.

So many factor and events. Suzue was realizing that even though she had 'future' knowledge, she didn't have details. And she was beginning to realize that just her presentence on this team had changed things to the point that she wasn't sure everything was going to happen the way it was 'supposed' to.

After all, once they were about half a kilometer in, she realized that the original Team Seven had entered through a different gate than they had. Story Team Seven had been surrounded by trees, not hanging out by the river. At least not at first.

Suzue needed to stop thinking about everything that was changing from what she may or may not know and focus more on the incoming team that had just made itself known in her sensing range.

"Incoming," Suzue announced. "Naruto set up the distraction."

"On it!" Naruto crowed as he brought his hands up into the sign for his Kage Bunshin. In a poof of smoke, two other versions of themselves appeared and disappeared into the trees by the river they were running along on.

Sasuke was already pulling out a spoil of ninja wire to begin setting up the trap. Suzue pulled out one of her own and joined him as Naruto started setting up his own traps that didn't involve ninja wire to make. It took them barely five minutes to set up the whole thing. Another five minutes was all it took for the team to figure out where they were and attack.

Between all the traps the other team didn't even last thirty seconds before all three of them were tied up. Suzue blinked as she realized that she hadn't even had to fight the team to get this result. Were they really that good with traps?

"Ah-ha! Found the scroll!" Naruto shouted from his rummaging of their things. Then he actually looked at it. "Aww, it's another Earth Scroll."

"We'll keep it as a backup," Suzue suggested as she Pulled at all the metal the attacking team had on them. She caught everything and started sorting through her stolen goods.

"You're not going to get far," one of the Suna ninja snarled already working on trying to get out of the ninja wire wrapped around him. He wasn't getting out of it with Suzue right there but he was making a good effort. "As soon as were free, we'll just come after you."

Suzue paused at that comment and looked up at the team. The one who had spoken and the Kunoichi of the group had made it onto the traps with just starches and a couple of burns from the exploding tags Naruto had used but their third teammate had ended up with two Shuriken to one of his knees. He was going to have problems with that knee for the rest of his life unless someone on the team was a medic. Still, they could probably come after them and cause problems if they didn't make it to the tower fast enough.

"He has a point," Suzue pointed out to the two boys who didn't seem to think that the team was much of a threat anymore. "We need to either kill them so they don't come after us or do something else that will keep them busy for at least 24 hours."

Naruto made a face at the thought of killing them. Then he brightens and started rummaging around in his pack. With a triumphant crow, he pulled out a bottle and showed it to them. "Think this will keep them busy for awhile?"

The bottle was marked but unless you know what the mark meant you had no idea what it was. Of course, Naruto had educated both Suzue and Sasuke into his marking system when they started using his stuff. What he was holding were laxatives.

"Yeah, that will work if we can get them to ingest it. It should keep them busy for at least 24 hours right?" Suzue asked.

"Right!" Naruto grinned. Then he let out an evil chuckle that had the Suna team sweating. "Leave it all to me."

Suzue eyed Naruto for a moment before shrugging it off and going back to sorting through the metal she had collected. Hey, it was free supplies. Sasuke joined Naruto in making the attacking team consume the laxatives. She didn't think much of it till they were all ready to leave again and she noticed that the team was shifting a little more than just trying to wiggle out of the bounds.

"What else did you do?" Suzue asked with a blink and look at Sasuke.

"Itching powder," Sasuke answered with a blank face.

"Hmmm, they are in for a horrible five days then," Suzue noted before the three of them took off.

Since all three of them knew how to water walk more or less, they were walking along the top of the river. Basically painting targets on themselves. At least they would be if Suzue wasn't able to sense incoming Shinobi. She doubted anyone here would know that she wasn't sensing chakra but the metal they carried.

At least, everyone except Orochimaru.

Suzue nearly tripped at that thought. Orochimaru knew who she was and knew enough to recognize her bloodline limit on sight. He would totally know how to counter her bloodline depending on how much he knew about it. And she was just going to assume that he knew enough. Granted, Suzue knew that knowing about and actually experiencing her bloodline limit in battle were two very different things. But she was going to bet that Orochimaru knew enough that he would probably be able to counter some of it.

For a moment she wondered just how Orochimaru would fight without any metal on him.

'Well, I'm going to find out soon enough,' Suzue sighed to herself as she waved off her teammate's concerns over her tripping.

Just as something caught her attention on the edge of her range something moved under the water. It had no metal so Suzue wasn't looking for it or even paying any attention to what was going on under the river, because well, she was more focused on the metal she was picking up in her range. Sasuke was the one to react the fastest.

"Naruto! Jump to the side!"

Naruto didn't shout back at the other boy like he might have in another life. Mostly because they actually trusted each other and Naruto wasn't always trying to one-up Sasuke all the time. So he jumped. And just missed being eaten by the largest alligator Suzue had ever seen or even heard about. Or maybe it was a crocodile. Suzue had no idea and could not for the life of her remember what the difference between them was.

With a splash that had the boys tumbling in the waves and Suzue stumbling over the rush of water, the reptile sunk back into the water where Suzue couldn't track it.

"Um, off the water?" Suzue squeaked as she steadied her footing and looked wide-eyed at the boys. Both of whom looked shocked and a little overwhelmed as well.

"Y-yeah," Naruto agreed and the three of them scrambled to get off the water and onto a formation of rocks under a huge tree. Suzue eyed their surroundings wearily wondering if there were any other overly large creatures nearby that were about to try and get an easy meal. She had honestly forgotten about such creatures in these woods.

Didn't Anko get ambushed by tigers?!

"So...large animals," Sasuke noted after several long seconds of them regaining their bearings. "I take it you can't sense them, Suzue?"

"Nope," Suzue answered still eyeing the area like she expected some animal to pop up and try for a bite. "Even if they have recently eaten someone...I wouldn't be able to sense the metal inside them."

"Wait, you can't sense metal when it's inside someone?" Sasuke asked in surprised.

"Yeah...Have I never mentioned these before?" Suzue blinked turning her attention more on Sasuke. "Wait...maybe I haven't..."

"No, I don't remember you ever saying that," Naruto agreed with Sasuke. Suzue noticed that he was peering wearily out into the water like he expected the alligator/crocodile to jump out and attack him.

"Don't lean over the water. That's just asking for it to come and get you," Suzue informed Naruto who backpedals away from the water.

"I guess, it's not really all that helpful to know," Sasuke muttered. "It's not like we're going to be hiding weapons inside of us or something like that."

"Can you even do that?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"I'm pretty sure some shinobi can," Suzue answered, though she wasn't completely sure of that answer. Though didn't Orochimaru keep his sword in him and pulled it out by his mouth? Actually didn't he eat his scroll?

"Well, whatever, we just need to make sure to keep an eye out for the wildlife...I guess I'll do that," Sasuke sighed.

"I'll keep an eye out too," Naruto grumbled. "Are we going back on the water?"

"Um...Maybe not here?" Suzue suggested as she eyed the water. Was that shadow the creature?

"Let's just walk along the edge for a while. We should probably keep an eye out for a good camping site as well," Sasuke threw in as he eyed the surroundings one last time.

"Sound good to me," Suzue agreed while Naruto grunted and threw his hands behind his head.

They were just about to set out with a huge gust of wind came blowing through the area. Suzue anchored herself to the ground with chakra to keep from being blown away. She tried shouting for her teammates to do the same but the wind blew her words away. She thought she heard Naruto yell something but it too was carried away by the wind.

The gust must have only last thirty seconds at the most but it felt longer to Suzue. She slowly lowered her arms from where she had been using them to protect her face and looked around. Sasuke was standing next to her in a similar stance but...

"Can you sense where the Dobe is?" Sasuke asked as he too realized that Naruto was not with them. It took a moment for Suzue to orientate herself and pick up where Naruto was. He was maybe half a kilometer away from them, well within her range of senses.

She let out a sigh of relief as she turned to answer Sasuke when he focused his attention on a moving bush. He sent Suzue a look and she shook her head. No, she could not sense what was in the brush.

Thus there were both on high alert when Naruto climbed out of the brush with no metal to be sensed on him.

"Oww...are you guys alright?" Fake-Naruto asked as he rubbed his back.

Neither of them answered as they exchanged looks. Then both were attacking the Fake.

"Whoa! Hey, what's this about?!" Fake-Naruto demanded. Suzue was Pulling the two kunai they had thrown back towards herself, moving so that it would place Fake-Naruto in their path while Sasuke started a jutsu. Fake-Naruto dodged both attacks.

"Guys," Fake-Naruto whined. "Why are you attacking me? Shouldn't we be looking out for other teams?"

"Drop the act," Sasuke ordered as Suzue took count of every bit of metal in the area. Which wasn't all that much. She supposes the training area was too big to really collect a large amount of discarded weapons in small areas.

"We know you're aren't really Naruto."

"Hehe," Fake-Naruto chuckled before a poof of smoke revealed another Shinobi that had abandoned their headband. And every other possible metal that a Shinobi could carry just wasn't there. Didn't make them any less dangerous though. "Impressive that you've figured it out. Pray tell. How did you two know?"

"I'm fairly certain you already know that," Suzue threw back as she forced herself to stay loose and not tense. "After all, you aren't carrying any metal on you."

"So true," the Shinobi purred. "You certainly are a smart one."

Suzue suddenly jerked. It took all her effort not to physically turn towards where she had just felt Naruto disappeared. Disappeared! She couldn't feel the metal he carried at all. One moment it was there, then it was gone.

Hadn't Naruto been swallowed but a snake?

"Suzue?" Sasuke asked when he noticed, shifting his stance just a little.

"We need to go to Naruto now," Suzue answered trying not to hyperventilate. He got out of the snake just fine in the story. He'll be fine. She did not get the main character killed.

"Why the hurry? After all, you need a heaven scroll. Do you not?" the Shinobi questioned as they held out said scroll. Then they pushed the scroll into their mouth and swallowed it whole. Suzue's brain did not want to compute that image; it was telling her what she had just seen was impossible.

Licking their lips, the Shinobi smiled at them and said, "Now let's begin, the battle for each other's scroll...with our lives on the line."

"What's the point if we're not all here," Suzue snapped back, shifting so that she could bolt at a moment's notice. She still couldn't feel Naruto. "After all, we need all team members to pass."

Then she heard retching next to her. A glance showed her that Sasuke had collapsed to all four and was panting rather hard. He also looked terrified out of his mind.

"Immune to killing intent?" the Shinobi mused. "What a surprise...so rare. Did something cause it or were you born that way, I wonder?"

Suzue focused most of her attention back on the Shinobi that Suzue was nearly a hundred percent sure was Orochimaru. And she now basically standing alone to fight him. She clenched her mouth shut to keep the hysterical giggles that wanted to burst from her lips down.

"So...what is the little mouse going to do now that it is alone against the predator? Your teammate can't even move with fear."

Suzue said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'll bite you to death."

Then she did something even more stupid and Pulled on every single piece of metal in her two-kilometer sensing range that was directly in front of her. It just happened to also be every single piece of metal directly behind Orochimaru.

Most shinobi fights were not large ranging fields. They were more or less close combat. Even 'long-distance' fighters weren't that far off from the actual fight. So for Suzue she rarely had to Push or Pull any metal outside the range of about 100 meters. In that range, it would take Suzue hours of Pushing and Pulling metal to exhaust her chakra reserves. Without factoring in any other chakra uses. But, the further the metal, the more chakra she had to use. The weight of the metal also factored in. The heavier the metal, the more chakra.

In theory, Suzue could Pull or Push on any metal she could sense in her range. In practice, the chakra cost of doing so was rarely worth whatever she was trying to do. It was also usually highly impractical.

Still, it was fucking Orochimaru, cornering her and Sasuke, with Naruto in trouble where they couldn't get to him. She was just slightly panicky and quite disparate. So she Pulled.

Suzue let the Pull go if any of the metal offered any resistance. There were at least two teams in her range that way. Actually, she was pretty sure they were battling when she thought about it. The rest she Pulled hard. Hard and fast. Feeding even more chakra into the Pull so that the metal would crash through whatever was in the way and continue on. It ate up even more chakra.

Animal screams were heard first then the cracking of wood as the metal was forced through at too high speed. The noise made Orochimaru turn to see what was causing it. He obviously didn't think of Suzue or Sasuke as threats to his being. Probably true, and he was facing where the real threat was coming from anyways.

Less than a fraction of a second. That was all the time she had to channel chakra into her legs, grab Sasuke, and bolt when the first piece of metal hit Orochimaru. And it hit hard. It went clean through his shoulder, taking a chunk out of it, and continued on its path towards her. She dropped the Pull as soon as she was moving but that didn't stop the metal screeching towards where she had been.

It felt like flying, moving this fast and taking to the trees. Sasuke was thrown over her shoulder and Suzue beelined for where she had last sense Naruto. She was there in a few minutes but Naruto nor a huge snake were there. Spinning in a circle to see if she could track where the snake could have gone, Sasuke let out a groan that had Suzue setting the boy on the ground only to have him retch again.

Rubbing his back in a soothing gesture, Suzue's eyes darted around trying to keep everything in her line of sight. Orochimaru wasn't wearing or carrying metal, she couldn't sense him coming.

"Sasuke," Suzue asked when he made some sort of choking noise. "Sasuke?! Breath with me. In. Hold. Out."

One panicky person should not be trying to help another panicked person even their breathing. Suzue was pretty sure she was running on an adrenaline rush, which was not good. For the moment, great, she was hyper-aware of everything and ready to act. But she was going to drop and crash soon. And she could not afford that. None of her teammates could afford that.

"Naruto," Sasuke gasped out after a couple of seconds following Suzue's breathing. They were both breathing too fast still.

"Not here. We need to keep moving," Suzue panted. "Can you move by yourself yet?"

Sasuke took gulps of air before pulling a kunai from his holster. Suzue Pushed on the thing before he could dig it into his leg. She then backhanded him hard enough to knock him to the ground when she realized what he was aiming for.

"Don't hurt yourself like that," Suzue ordered flexing her hand a little. "You need your damn leg to run, idiot."

"Thanks," Sasuke grunted as he sat up. He paused then stood, only swaying a little. "Let's go. Know where the real idiot is?"

"Something big that could have eaten him seems to have gone that way," Suzue pointed out. With a nod from the boy, they both headed in the direction to find their lost teammate. Then Naruto was suddenly back in her sensing range. "Got him!"

"Lead the way," Sasuke called back in acknowledgment as Suzue change directions a bit for a more direct route to their lost teammate. They didn't get very far when a snake appeared in their path causing them to jump back in alarm. Suzue pulled out a string of shuriken and Pushed them at the snake. They whistled as they cut through the air and all sunk completely into the tree trunk. Unfortunately, none of them hit the snake as it easily twisted out of the way with more speed then it should have.

Sasuke's barrage hit though since it had been more focused on her than him. It collapsed onto a branch as Sasuke and Suzue regrouped next to each other. Then it started splitting open and Orochimaru appeared before them, tongue hanging out, and a predatory look in his eyes.

"Such diligent prey. Staying alert even when the predator isn't in view," Orochimaru praised, licking his lips. "Not that it will help much in the end."

"Sasuke?" Suzue muttered.

"Is Naruto heading this way?" Sasuke muttered back. Suzue took a moment to tug on Naruto's headband. He had been heading in the wrong direction. But he realized what the Pull on his headband meant and adjusted his course. So Suzue nodded.

"We're going to give it all we have then," Sasuke told her.

Then they were moving. Suzue Pulled her shuriken back towards her as Sasuke attacked Orochimaru head on. She caught and strung them back on a piece of ninja wire as she pulled out a spool of ninja wire and oil. Looping the end around her fingers, Suzue dribbled some oil at the end, and let it start running down the line as she tossed the spoil into the air.

Instead of Pushing and Pulling on a kuani at the end of the line to form a trap, Suzue Pushed and Pulled on the spoil itself as she moved around the battle area. She couldn't think too much on the forming of the trap or she was more likely to have it end up in a tangled mess. Sasuke was sending her cues as he engaged Orochimaru in a taijutsu match.

It didn't last long.

Orochimaru was clearly just toying with both of them as he dodged not only Sasuke's attacks but the random weapons she would throw at him in order to distract him and the web of ninja wire that was steadily forming around them. She continued to pour more oil along the line.

Then Naruto was there in all his chaotic glory, joining Sasuke in his taijutsu match. The easily played off each other making Orochimaru work harder to dodge everything coming towards him. Sasuke was then pulling back away and Naruto had just pulled something from his pouch which he was now throwing at Orochimaru.

When the dust cleared, Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen.

"What? He wasn't supposed to explode to pieces?!" Naruto cried out looking around to see if he could spot where Orochimaru had gotten to.

The hairs on the back of Suzue stood up and she was spinning and Pushing on the ninja wire in her hand. She let it unravel from her fingers as it cut into Orochimaru's chest before he melted into mud. There was the faintest trace of blood on the wire, so Suzue had hit him.

Then there was a swarm of Narutos everywhere.

"Oi!" several suddenly cried before they burst into smoke. Sasuke was in the air, hands flashing through hands signs before he gave several puffs of breath that formed a ball of flames each. The dark haired boy had taken into account where she was standing so she took advantage and Pushed on the shuriken hidden in the flames just before Orochimaru used a jutsu to blow the flames out.

They hit.

Orochimaru's eyes focused on her right before he was dogpiled by a bunch of Narutos. They all burst into smoke and before Suzue could even blink, Orochimaru was in front of her lifting her into the air by her throat.

"You are causing too many problems," Orochimaru hissed at her. His face was flaking off, just like a snake shedding its skin.

Suzue tried to say something but only a squeak managed to make it out. Her hands had come up to grab his arm in an effort to get him to let go. She knew that wasn't going to work.

Spoil was falling. The wire was everywhere. Sasuke was in a good place for the next plan. Orochimaru was nearly in the perfect spot. If she could just...wait..one more...second.

Everything was in place. Suzue dropped her hands, pulled her legs up, channeled as much chakra as she dared into them, and kicked.

Orochimaru stumbled as she Pulled on the spoil causing the web to tighten all around the two of them as Sasuke lite the whole trap on fire.

Problem was Orochimaru hadn't let go of her neck. If anything he was squeezing even harder. Breathless gasps passed her lips as her body fought to draw air in as she pulled a kunai out of her hostler. She plunged it towards his elbow of the arm holding her up only to have him use his other arm to grab her wrist. She Pushed on one of the shuriken she had scattered around the area to use as anchors. Nails dug in and she pretty sure she was bleeding now as her body jerked up in an effort to send her into the air away from the burning trap they had just triggered.

Spots were dancing in her vision. And she was pretty sure the boys were shouting at her but she couldn't hear much outside the rush of blood pounding in her ears.

Suzue grabbed another kunai to attack Orochimaru with and he let her go. She flew up, sucking in dry air that threw her into a coughing fit. Distracted and feeling dizzy, Suzue forgot to stop Pushing once she met the highest point of the teather. She fell.

Her stomach swooped at the moment of weightlessness before gravity turned back on. She Pulled on the closest anchor only to have it come flying towards her instead of her flying towards it. Adjusting to Pushing it instead, Suzue realized that it wasn't going to hit something to act as an anchor again before she hit the tangle of ninja wire.

Having no idea if the ninja wire would even act as a good anchor, Suzue Pushed on it instead. It bowed but after a long moment she stopped falling. The fire had died, but it left the ninja wire hot. Suzue could feel it as she tried to get her breathing under control and her head to stop spinning. She needed to be alert. Needed to be aware. She was still in danger. Her teammates were still in danger.

And she needed to move. The ninja wire was working as an anchor for the moment but she could feel it moving. The Push was causing it to cut into the branches it was wrapped around. Soon it would cut through and then she wouldn't have an anchor anymore.

But where to go?

A branch was close by. She could get to it and regroup. Figure out what the boys were doing then help. She was sure they were keeping Orochimaru busy. Or maybe Orochimaru had already gotten bored and had marked Sasuke and was gone. As bad as that was for Sasuke, she almost hoped that was what happened because she wasn't sure she could keep going for much longer.

One jump and she was on the branch. She turned to see what was going on only to have her version blur and pain bloom on her front and half of her face. A punishing grip was now on the back of her neck.

"I am so tempted to give you the same gift as Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru hissed in her ear. Suzue's breath hitched. She frantically tried to find some weapon she could Pull towards herself and thus Orochimaru to hurt him as he continued. "But I think I'll give you this instead. It should keep you out of my plans. For a while at least."

Pain bloom from the point where his hand gripped at the back of her neck. It spread rapidly across her shoulders, down her back, up into her head. And she was screaming. It hurt. It hurt so much. Suzue could feel Orochimaru's chakra sinking into her own, wrapping around it, attacking it.

She did the only thing she could think of and pulled out her chakra into a tiny little ball at her core. It was something she hadn't done since she had gone to chakra therapy and realized just what she was doing to herself.

Relief flooded her body as the pain was eased. But her body was trembling. Suzue had taken too much of a beating. And without chakra flowing through it, it didn't want to function anymore. Despite it still being in danger.

Her body collapsed and everything went dark.


	10. Chapter 10 - Chunin Exams Part Two

Title: Blackout

Author: Lady Hachimitsu

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, otherwise he probably would have been female...

Warnings: Same as all the other chapters and minimal editing.

Notes: If you're reading this update first stop and go read chapter nine first.

* * *

In his own mind, Naruto could acknowledged that he was fucking terrified. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. His teammates were relying on him to protect them until they got better. If they got better.

No, no, no! They would get better! And then they'll find a Heaven Scroll, go to the tower, and beat this Chunin Exam! Then figure out a way for all of them to be on a team together. Forever. And maybe get a house together so none of them had to be alone again. That would be nice.

Oh, and they were going to have to figure out away to deal with the stupid Snake Ghost that came after them again! In the middle of the Exams. Wasn't the whole point of staying in the village and not going on awesome missions was so that they could keep Sasuke safe? While that failed. Spectacularly.

And Suzue had gotten hurt.

Naruto glanced at his female teammate who was still unconcesses. That stupid Snake Ghost had done something to her. Had made her scream. Naruto had never heard her scream in pain. Usually if she was hurt she would just hiss or go quite. Not...scream like she was dying. Naruto had thought that Snake Ghost had killed her for a moment. He had been so pissed. And scared.

How would they be a team if Suzue was gone?

Was this how his teammates felt when he 'died' in that fight on the bridge?

Things had gotten blurry for a minute after that. At least until Sasuke was screaming like he was dying and Naruto couldn't find that stupid Snake Ghost anymore.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he needed to get his teammates to a safe place and take care of him, Naruto would have hunted that bastard down to rip him to shreds. As it was, Naruto still wanted to do that. If he ever ran into that Snake Ghost again...

While, that was for later thinking. He needed to keep his teammates safe and guarded until they woke up. And he was positive they would wake up. Then everything would be fine.

With a sigh, Naruto checked the cloth he had put on Sasuke's head like he had seen in a movie when someone was sick. He was pretty sure this is what you suppose to do when someone had a fever. At least, he thought Sasuke had a fever. He wasn't sure. He had never had a fever before.

The cloth was warm so Naruto took it off and put in the pool of water one of his clones had carried to him in some bark that was sort of bowl shape. He soaked it, then rung it out, before putting it back on Sasuke's forehead. Maybe he should wipe the sweat off too?

Naruto made a frustrated noise. He had no idea how to take care of sick people. He had never gotten sick before (except for a couple of stomach aches over the years) and even if he had gotten sick, no one would have been there to take care of him. At least until recently. He was pretty sure anyone from his team would take care of him if he got sick. Even Sasuke. Though he'll probably complain and call Naruto names or something. He would at least, still do it.

With a pout, Naruto glanced at Suzue and flinched as his eyes caught sight of her bruised neck. It had gotten darker and Naruto wasn't sure why it hadn't gone away yet. When Naruto got bruises they were gone in a few hours, or if they there were really bad, they'll take a day to disappear. But Suzue's bruises didn't seemed to be going away at all. If anything they seemed to be getting worse!

Maybe it had something to do with whatever that Snake Ghost had done to her. Both she and Sasuke had weird marks on their necks. But they were different. Sasuke's looked like three tadpoles while Suzue's looked like a knot. A complicated knot that would make Naruto's head hurt trying to make let alone unravel.

He wondered if that mark was also the reason Suzue was cold, clammy, and so pale her black marks on her cheeks had turned grey. Naruto had tucked his jacket around her and placed her as close to Sasuke as he could. After all, if he was hot and she was cold they could help each other out right?

Except Suzue hadn't moved. Naruto had been expecting Suzue to roll on to her side because that was how she normally slept. And they all knew from experience that she would cuddle up to someone if they were sleeping close to her and not kicking her out of her bed. Naruto still felt mildly guilty over that. But she hadn't moved at all. And her breathing didn't sound good.

There was a russell and Naruto spun towards the noise to see what it was only to have a squirrel jump from the leaves. Naruto squinted at it in suspicion. It blinked at him, made some chitting noise, then took a hop towards him. And all the traps he had laid in the area.

So Naruto chucked a kunai at the small animal and it ran off. He frowned after it. Had that been some sort of tag on it's back?

Strachting at the back of his head trying to figure it out, Naruto glanced as his teammates and wished they would wake up already. They had slept the whole night away! The sun had just risen! He groaned and flopped backwards onto the branch they were all in. He had set up camp up in a tree after having clones make sure there was nothing scary in it. It turned out good and so he had set his teammates in the middle of it then set up traps everywhere.

"Up all night?"

Naruto whipped towards the voice while standing up and pulling a kunai out while preparing to spam clones if needs be. He blinked as he found himself facing the ninja who had attack Kabuto in the classroom. And who were up in that tree the other day...

"But it's no longer necessary," the voice continued revealing it to belong to the mummy looking one. "Wake up Sasuke-kun. We want to fight him."

"Like hell! You're totally going to have to beat me first!" Naruto shouted. "And there's no way that's gonna happen!"

"Heh," broom-head chuckled. "That should be quick. Why don't you save us the time and just wake him up?"

"Why don't you save us time and just hand over your scroll and leave!" Naruto threw back. He doubted that would work but hey, you never know.

"How about not," Mummy Dude hummed. "Either wake Sasuke-kun up or we'll kill you."

"Like to see you try!"

"Fine, you're funeil," Broom-head shrugged and taking a step towards him.

"Wait," Mummy Dude called out.

"Huh? Why?" Broom Head asked but stopped.

"Don't you see it?" Mummy Dude asked. "There are wires everywhere. Traps. That are now useless since they've been noticed."

"Stupid," Broom Head snorted. "I guess that kunai earlier was to prevent the squirrel from setting it off."

"So there was a tag on the squirrel!" Naruto shouted then grinned to himself for having noticed. "Not as sneaky as you thought!"

"...You're a moron," Mummy Dude stated making Naruto squawked at that. "Kill him."

The Sound Team launched themselves at him, avoiding the wires. Not that it was going to help. They were now in his territory.

Naruto have a vesish grin as he threw three kunai at each of them. Unless you were Suzue-chan, it was really hard to dodge things when you were in the air. Though you could catch the kunai like the three of them did. But while they were busy with the kunai he threw at them, one of his clones activated the first trap. It was even harder to do anything to dodge in the air when a branch the same size as a person came swiping at you.

It totally caught them by surprise.

The three of them went flying into another trap that they couldn't dodge. They ended up tangled in a web of ninja wire just before half of his remaining itching powder was dumped on them. He knew from experience just how annoying it was to fight when he had a body-wide itch. Thank you Suzue-chan.

"What the hell?! How was that trap even triggered?!" Broom Head shouted as he struggled in the ninja wire. At least until he noticed it was digging into his skin and blood was now dripping down the wires.

"Trade Secret!" Naruto sang as he wondered what to do with the three of them now. Dump them in the river with that water lizard? The itching powdered would have sunk in enough that it wouldn't just wash off right away. And he could have clones carry them off to that place. He was pretty sure it was close enough. Maybe...

Then Broom Head...shot(?)...did something with his hand that sent an air blast/wave on one of the branches holding up the web they were caught in. They fell, unraveling from the web trap and landing easily on the ground. Looking up at him, they glared before the ground gave way and they fell again.

It was unnerving how similar their screams of pains were to his teammates.

Naruto dismissed them from his mind because they weren't going to be a threat to him and his teammates again. Even if they managed to get out of that pit alive, they would be in no condition to fight. A clone would get their scroll. Now he just needed to decide if he was going to stay here or move to someplace else.

He could easily reset the traps they had triggered. Even the pit. Clones would easily and quickly cover it back up. The main problem was the fact that the sound team had been loud in their screams. Which meant attention. Naruto wasn't sure he wanted attention on his team when two-thirds of it was hurt and defenseless.

Groaning as he ruffled his head trying to figure out what to do, Naruto almost missed the clone coming up to join him.

"Boss! Guess what they had a Heaven Scroll!" the clone cheered, handing over said scroll.

"Seriously! Awesome!" Naruto grinned as he took the scroll. "So, do we start heading to the tower now? Or wait until the team is all awake?"

"Umm," Clone Naruto hummed as he pondered the question as well. Then the clone looked startled and pointed to something behind Naruto. "Hey, Boss, something's going on with Teme."

Spinning, Naruto turned to find that Sasuke had gotten up to his hands and knees. Problem was that he now had a bunch of tadpole-looking marks all over his skin and they seemed to be spreading. And he was leaking chakra. Leaking chakra was bad. Wasn't it?

"Teme!" Naruto called as he scrambled to get to Sasuke to check him over. Not that he was going to be able to do much, probably.

"Where's that bastard?" Sasuke demanded as he stood up. Naruto paused at the look in Sasuke's eyes. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Bastard? You mean that Snake Ghost guy? He took off after doing something to you last night," Naruto answered not daring to get closer to Sasuke as he realized that the look in Sasuke's eyes was way too similar to the look Zabuza had when they had attacked him to free Kakashi-sensei. It looked like Sasuke wanted to kill something.

Naruto suddenly wondered if it had been a mistake to put Suzue-chan so close to Sasuke.

"Last night?" Sasuke repeated and that look dimmed. Just a little. "He's gone? How did you beat him?"

"Didn't," Naruto answered shortly, still bitter about the fact that he hadn't been able to follow to tear that bastard apart for hurting his teammates. "He ran off. Apparently he wanted to give you a hickey or something. He left a mark on your neck and it seems to be spreading. Are you feeling alright, Teme?"

"I..." Sasuke started but stop. His eyes squeezed shut before he asked, "Suzue. Where's Suzue?"

"Behind you. Still unconcesses," Naruto answered. Sasuke opened his eyes and turned. He stared as Suzue for a long moment then the marks started to withdrawal. And the chakra stopped leaking.

Sasuke collapsed to his knees once the marks were gone.

"Teme? You alright now? Feeling less homicidal?" Naruto asked. That was the right word, right?

"Tired," Sasuke grumbled as he sat down with a sigh. "How is Suzue?"

"Cold. Still asleep. You had a fever so I was hoping she would snuggle up to you for warmth...but she didn't move at all. I think she's been having problems breath too," Naruto reported as he plopped down next to his male teammate. He peaked at the mark and it was still there but was only three tadpoles instead of several.

"That bastard was choking her. He nearly killed her with that. There's probably damage to her throat," Sasuke offered.

"But shouldn't it be healed by now? Or mostly healed? It's been like twelve hours already," Naruto asked with a bit of a whine. And now Sasuke was giving him a weird look. "What?"

"It takes days for a bruise to heal. Longer for how bad these ones are," Sasuke informed him. Naruto blinked.

"What? No...my bruises are always gone within twenty-four hours at most," Naruto countered.

"...That's something unique to you," Sasuke finally told him after a long pause. "The rest of us have bruises that last for days unless we see a medic."

"Oh..." Naruto sighed as he turned back to Suzue. "I got us a Heaven Scroll while you were out of it."

"What? How did you manage that?" Sasuke questioned, eyes narrowed. Then he seemed to notice the traps Naruto had rigged around them. "Traps?"

"Hey, they attacked in the trap zone. Nothing gets through...unless you're Kakashi-sensei," Naruto boasted. Sasuke nodded. He had been a victim of one trap area he had set up. Suzue-chan too. And he sort of got Kakashi-sensei with it...once. He was glad Suzue-chan had suggested practicing setting up traps for one of their training days. It had been so much fun.

"I see...where are they now? They run off?"

"Pit trap with spikes. They're probably dead by now," Naruto shrugged as he pointed over his shoulder in the direction. Sasuke leaned over and must have been able to see it because he starred in that direction for a long moment before sitting back up.

"I think one of them is still alive. But the other two aren't moving at all," Sasuke informed him. "So...do we head to the tower now or wait until Suzue wakes up?"

"I was trying to decide that right before you woke up," Naruto confessed. "They made a bit of noise in dying so...might have drawn attention to where we are...but it would be easy enough to reset the traps."

Sasuke pondered for a long moment before answering. "Let's stay here for another half a day so you can get some rest. You stayed up all night right?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine."

"I could use a bit of rest. Maybe not sleep but..." Sasuke shook his head. "My body feels off. So reset the traps and show me how to trigger them. You sleep and I'll wake you about noon. Then we'll head to the tower. Shouldn't take us too long to reach it following the river. Hopefully, Suzue will wake up in the meantime."

"Alright," Naruto grunted. He was kind of tired. And it would be better if Suzue woke up soon. "I'll need to reset some of the others so you can trigger them. I was having clones do it."

Sasuke just grunted. Probably used his word quota around him for the day. With a roll of his eyes, Naruto got up and set about showing Sasuke where the traps were, how to trigger them, and resetting the three that needed to be reset.

He had one of the clones finish off Broom Head when they reset the pit trap. He had still been alive.

* * *

Every muscle felt like it had cramped. Even muscles Suzue hadn't been aware existed. It hurt. So much that Suzue was tempted to fall back into the darkness to escape. But something...there was something that told her she needed to wake up. Something about her teammates. Danger...

Suzue's eyes flew open and she tried to sit up to get her bearings. Only pain laced across her whole torso making her breath hitching and she collapsed back on to the branch she was on. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and it even hurt to breath.

"Suzue-chan!" Naruto cried out and suddenly he was hovering over. "Don't move alright. I have no idea what that Snake Ghost bastard did to you."

Not moving sounded like a fantastic idea.

"Hey, Suzue," Sasuke called out as he appeared in her view. "Can you tell me what hurts?"

"Everything," Suzue breathed. And was that her voice? It was so raspy. And her throat hurt.

"Shit," Naruto muttered, "That's bad right?"

"Yes, Dobe, it's bad," Sasuke snapped back.

Suzue ignored them for a moment to see if she could relive the pain with a chakra trick she had learned in therapy. It wasn't really a trick as most people with chakra did it without thinking but Suzue didn't always do it. Basically, it used chakra to flush out the system of fatigue. That acid that builds up in the muscles that made them sore. need to look that up.

Suzue reached for her chakra that was so wrapped in her that it took her a moment to find it. She was surprised to find it there as it had been a long time since she had wound her chakra up that tightly. Still, she reached for it and started pulling it out to flush it through her system.

Pain.

So much pain.

It took her a long moment to realize that the scream that was now ringing in her ear was coming from her.

She was screaming.

She needed to stop.

Stop screaming.

Stop using chakra.

Suzue round her chakra back up into that tight ball it had been just moments before. The pain was still there. She was pretty sure her body was trembling.

Both the boys were calling her.

She couldn't answer.

Wetness.

She was crying.

"Suzue," Sasuke was calling. Hands fluttering over her. He wanted to help but didn't know how. Didn't know where to put his hands. Didn't know what to do.

She didn't know what to do either.

Dying hadn't hurt this much.

"Suzue-chan?" Naruto's voice. So small. He sounded like a child. So lost.

Suzue couldn't do that to them. Couldn't leave them alone. They shouldn't have to worry about her. She'll be fine. Maybe.

Gods, she hoped she would be fine.

There was nothing she could do for the pain. She couldn't use chakra and she wasn't sure the pain medicine they had would even help with this. But she was getting used to it. If she didn't move. That was going to be a problem.

She needed to stop crying. She could do that. She would do that. The boys didn't need to see her cry. So she took in a breath. Her throat hurt. Breathing hurt.

That was not good.

Maybe the pain medicine would help a little. Couldn't hurt, right?

"P...pain..." Suzue tried to speak. There was no way she was getting them herself. Sasuke should have them. "Med..."

"Pain medicine?" Sasuke caught on. He looked mildly panicked. But he was keeping his head on him. He was already fishing the medicine out before Suzue could even nod her head. Oh, her vision was swimming now.

"I have water!" Naruto informed them as he held out a canteen. Sasuke reached for it then paused looking back at Suzue.

"Can you swallow pills?" Sasuke asked her. It took a moment for Suzue to realize what he was asking. And...no, she did not think she could swallow pills down with how much her throat was hurting at the moment. Shaking her head, Sasuke ordered Naruto to wash a rock off as he put the two pills in a bowl.

Suzue tuned her teammates out for a moment as she tried to figure out what she could do besides just lay there in pain. Not much she didn't think. The edge of the pain seemed to have been taken off as she had been laying there and keeping her chakra bound up tight in her. Now that she was taking stock, she realized that the greatest pain she had was around the area she had bound her chakra up in. Was the pain a result of having chakra in her system?

Debating for a long moment as Sasuke started grinning up the pills to mix with waters to get into her, Suzue slowly let just a hint of chakra out.

More pain.

She grunted and let out a long hiss as she quickly pulled it back in.

That would be a yes, chakra was the reason for the pain.

"Suzue," Sasuke's voice pulled her out of her head as she turned slowly towards him. "Here, drink."

He held up the canteen cap to her lips and she parted them. He slowly poured the water and powdered pills into her mouth while helping her sit up just a little and tilting her head back.

Swallowing it hurt.

It also made her aware of how thirsty she was.

Also, that water was nasty with the pills.

She still wanted more of it though.

"More," Suzue gasped out.

"Wait for the pills to work first," Sasuke told her.

"Water," Suzue continued with a shake of her head. Naruto thrust the canteen at Sasuke. Naruto took a step back but hovered over them as Sasuke put the lip of the canteen to her own lips. He slowly poured water. Only enough so she could sip and let it trickle down her throat. It forced her to go slow, which was probably a good thing. If left on her own, she would probably be chugging water down.

After several minutes she turned her head away and Sasuke took the canteen way from her lips.

"Feeling better?" Sasuke asked looking conflicted.

"A bit," Suzue breathed out. Her voice wasn't as raspy and it was easier to speak. "Still hurts."

"What did that Snake Ghost Bastard do to you?" Naruto asked in a bit of a whiny tone. He looked alarmed and a bit frazzled.

"Sealed my chakra I think," Suzue answered weakly.

"What?" Sasuke yelped, eyes going wide. "What do you mean seal your chakra? How can you even move?"

"Sealing chakra is bad?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, it's how we move, how we do anything. You can't be a ninja without chakra!" Sasuke snapped at the blond.

"It can be fixed right?" Naruto asked after a moment.

"I...I don't know," Sasuke admitted looking away from both of them. His hand twitched. So did his shoulder. He looked really frustrated.

"Once," Suzue started, wincing a little at the pain in her throat. She really didn't want to be talking. "Once, the pain goes down a bit. I should be fine mostly. Though I won't be nearly as useful."

"You are not fine," Sasuke grounded up, shooting her a glare.

"No, I'm not," Suzue agreed. "But I'm not as bad off as I could be."

Or at least wouldn't be once the pain had faded a bit. And she could move without her body protesting.

She wanted to sleep.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked breaking Suzue and Sasuke's fight. "Sasuke and I were talking about going to the tower and one of us carrying you. Should we wait now until Suzue-chan's better?"

"...No," Sasuke muttered after a long pause. "It's not going to get better with us just sitting out here. You mentioned she had a mark too?"

Did Orochimaru give her the curse seal as well? Suzue panicked for a moment.

Both boys noticed her increase breathing.

"Suzue-chan?"

"What mark?" Suzue gasped out. She tried to move her arms but all she got for her effort was pain.

"There's a mark on the back of your neck. Snake Ghost put it there. Sasuke has one too but it looks different from yours. I don't think they're the same thing," Naruto answered. "And when Sasuke woke up, the mark was growing making him look like a pond with tadpoles in it."

"Seriously Dobe?" Sasuke groaned.

"What it did!" Naruto defended.

Suzue let out a huff of laughed at the mental image of Sasuke covered in tadpoles. Only the laugh turned into a breathless moan as her body let her know that laughing hurt. How did she end up the worst of the three of them?

"Suzue-chan?"

"No...laughing," Suzue gasped as she tried evening out her breathing again.

"Alright, Naruto, you're going to carry her. I'll take point," Sasuke ordered. "The faster we get to the tower the better off we'll be. Suzue can scout for us to avoid people until we get to the tower."

"Fine," Naruto grunted. "I'll get some clones to start cleaning up the area."

"We should leave now," Suzue suggested as Naruto made some clones. Breathing was now easier since her chest didn't hurt from laughing.

"Huh?"

"We leave while the clones are cleaning up. We don't need to hang around until they're done."

"She's right, let's just grab what we need and head out," Sasuke agreed.

"Alright," Naruto huffed. "Um...can you get on my back Suzue-chan?"

Suzue thought about it for a moment then tried moving in slow motions. It hurt.

"Help me on to his back, Sasuke?" Suzue asked as she gave up trying. The dark haired boy grunted but helped her sit up and move her onto Naruto's back. Still hurt but it was easier than trying to do it herself.

"You okay back there?" Naruto asked as he stood up once he was sure she was secured to his back.

"Yeah," Suzue nodded then frowned. "Why am I on a clone?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a dirty look while Naruto glanced back at her with a startled look. "Suzue-chan, I'm the real Naruto."

A feeling of dread curled in her stomach and she looked at Sasuke for confirmation on what she was just realizing.

"Suzue?" Sasuke asked.

"I...I can't sense metal."

"What?! How can you not sense metal?" Naruto demanded doing a spin before remembering that he couldn't turn to look Suzue in the face because she was on his back. Suzue's vision spun and it was totally going to be Naruto's fault if she ends up vomiting on him.

"You're chakra's sealed," Sasuke breathed as he caught on.

"So?"

"So, Dobe," Sasuke snapped. "She needs to be able to use chakra to use her bloodline limit. And her chakra's sealed."

"Oh..." Naruto said quietly. "That true, Suzue-chan?"

Suzue watched as Sasuke rolled his eyes even as she answered, "Yes, he's right. It also means I'm not going to be able to scout for us."

"That's fine!" Naruto declared. "I can make clones to scout for us. It can be misdirection as well...right?"

"It'll work," Sasuke agreed looking around the tree. "How about you make a bunch of clones henged into us too? Then we'll have 'teams' of us leave at different points in different directions. That way it'll be harder to follow us."

"Hehe, like a prank," Naruto nodded looking eager.

"Like a prank," Sasuke huffed turning away. Suzue was sure that he had just rolled his eyes.

Naruto did as was asked and they ended up waiting about 20 minutes before leaving after three other 'teams' had bolted. Not that Suzue minded. She felt exhausted and really just wanted to go to sleep. But being in the middle of a very dangerous forest about to go running through it made that hard for some reason.

Suzue felt naked. It had been years since she had bound her chakra tight enough to lose her ability to sense metal. Part of the reason she had even started binding her chakra inside her as a kid was because being able to sense metal had freaked her out a little. She hadn't known what she was picking up until her uncle explained it to her at age six in this life. Even then, she had to really think about being able to sense the metal because chakra had just felt so weird. Until chakra therapy, she really hadn't had any control of her chakra besides stuffing it all into a ball so she didn't have to feel it.

Not being able to feel all the metal around her was leaving Suzue on edge. She hadn't realized just how much she had come to rely on being able to sense that. How much it comforted her to be able to know what was around her. It was like she was suddenly blind. Or she had bad eyesight and someone had just stolen her glasses. That might be more accurate on how she felt.

Not being able to access her chakra without deliberating pain wasn't helping.

But like she had told Sasuke, it could have been worst. Suzue had trained in not using her chakra. She did nearly her whole workout routine without chakra. Had done it for a long time without chakra until she platitude. After all, there was a limit to what the human body could do on its own. So, she could hold herself in a fight if push came to shove. And the fight didn't last very long. And it was just hand-to-hand combat fighting against someone who was not a taijutsu specialist. Like Lee.

She was sure she'll be fine.

* * *

"Hey, Naruto?" Suzue asked after they had been traveling for almost an hour. It would take another hour to reach the tower if they didn't run into trouble. "Why are we going to the tower? Don't we need to get another scroll?"

"Oh! I got one when you and Teme were sleeping. That Sound team that attacked Kabuto before the evil paper test attacked. They were looking for Teme for some reason. Wanted to fight him. Anyways, I told them they had to go through me first and they said they'll kill me then kill Teme. They're leader, Mummy Dude, thought he was so smart and had spotted my traps. But he only spotted the one that would have dropped the branch from under them. Didn't see the other ones. So when they leaped at me I triggered this one that had the branch swatting them into a web trap. I was thinking of having a clone dump them in the river with that water lizard when they freed themselves from the trap, only they landed on a pit trap and fell through."

Naruto paused then for a long moment. It took Suzue just as long to realize why Naruto was pausing when he continued.

"They screamed like you and Sasuke did when that Snake Ghost marked you. One died on impact, one of the sticks went through her eye. The Mummy Dude died soon after. A stick went through his chest. Broom Head was still alive though. He would have died, I think. You'll die from having a stick in the stomach right?"

"Yeah, it takes a long time to die from a stomach wound though. That's why samurai have seconds when they commit suicide ritual. The second ends it so they don't have to sit there for hours dying," Suzue answered.

"Uh-huh," Naruto nodded. "I had a clone slit his throat."

Suzue didn't say anything but did squeeze Naruto a bit to let him know that she was there. Still wanted to be by his side.

"Anyways," Naruto started with a deep breath. "They had a Heaven scroll on them. So we have both scrolls now!"

"Great. You did a good job, Naruto-kun," Suzue praised.

"...Guess so."

"If you want to talk about it, I'll listen," Suzue offered. "Kakashi-sensei will too. Or my brother. He's a good listener."

"Erg, I'm sure you love your brother, Suzue-chan. But he thinks I'm a pervert and want to do nasty things with you. Which, gross. So no thanks."

A breathy laugh escaped her mouth, which sent her torso into a brief flare of pain that had her breath catching.

"Suzue-chan," Naruto whined. "No laughing."

"Right," Suzue huffed as she settled onto Naruto's back again. "Then don't make me laugh."

"...I'm not trying to."

"I know," Suzue said as she rested her head on the back of Naruto's neck. It wasn't too surprising that he smelt like ramen. But he also smelt like green things. Or spring. Odd combo, but nice. "But my offer still stands. If you want to talk, I'll listen."

"Okay," Naruto agreed quietly.

They fell into silence after that. Suzue had her thoughts turn to the now dead sound team. She was pretty sure the three of them all ended up dead before the chunin exam finished anyways but...it meant that the preliminary line up was going to change. Though she supposes that was always a possibility since it was supposed to be random. Suzue had always subscribed to the idea that it was rigged as the lineups seemed too...convenient. Even the lineups for the actual exams seemed to be rigged. Though Naruto probably did have the luck to draw what he wanted.

And it looked like she wasn't going to get a reason to kill Kabuto while in the forest. Even if they came across him on their way to the tower, she was in no condition to be able to fight him to the death. She hadn't been sure about her odds when she had access to her chakra. Now, she was just asking him to kill her if she tried to fight him. So much for heading off the zombie war.

Then she realized that this was Naruto's first kill. The sound trio were Naruto's first kill. Suzue couldn't remember if Naruto had ever even killed anyone in the Story. That money loving Akatsuki member that she could never remember the name of, even before her death. She was pretty sure Naruto had killed him. But had he killed anyone before that?

Suzue honestly had no idea.

But did it manner? If it changed Naruto, maybe. But wasn't Naruto changed anyways from her being on the team? Sasuke definitely was. But was Naruto?

Suzue hesitantly decided that yes, Naruto had changed as well from her presentence. He was calmer overall. Less, give me your attention. Probably because he had her attention. He didn't have to do everything and anything under the sun to get it. Sasuke's attention as well. And...

It suddenly dawned on her why Naruto and Sasuke seemed to fight more than they had in the Story. Sakura wasn't there to end their fights. Suzue didn't have it in her to interrupt their fights unless it was necessary and even then she always wanted to hesitate. So unlike Sakura, Suzue let them have their fights. And she couldn't remember enough details from the Story to know if it had been true there, but in this life, world, Sasuke was just as likely to start fights with Naruto as Naruto was with Sasuke.

And Suzue realized that the boys were a lot closer because of it.

Team Seven as a whole was a lot closer than that other Team Seven with Sakura.

Suzue wondered if that was a good thing. She certainly hoped it was. And...she decided, that she wasn't going to let her team go without a fight. She might not have wanted to be on Team Seven at first, but now, these two lonely boys were hers. She wasn't going to let them go.

* * *

"I can't believe you lead us to a plant monster of all things," Sasuke growled at Naruto as they walked up to the tower door nearly an hour later than they planned.

"How was I supposed to know that thing could move?! Plants are normally stationary," Naruto snapped back while Suzue tried not to laugh at the two boys.

"I think I've been violated," Sasuke grumbled as he threw open the doors.

"You weren't the one the plant was molesting," Naruto threw back making Suzue snort. The painkillers had kicked in and she was actually feeling okay. She needed sleep in the worst way and her whole body ached like she had overdone a workout, but compared to the crippling pain she had been experiencing only a few hours ago, she felt fantastic.

It still hurt to laugh though.

"You're clones should have been the ones to identify it," Sasuke accused.

"It wasn't moving when they went through," Naruto defended as they entered an open room. "Hey? Shouldn't someone be here?"

"You would think," Sasuke agreed looking around before eyeing the poem on the wall in front of them. "Do you think this has anything to do with the Exam?"

They all read the poem on the wall. It was missing two words. Two words that happen to be on the scrolls they had.

"I don't get it," Naruto declared after squinting at the poem for a minute.

"I think we need to open the scrolls," Suzue offered and wondered if she should get off Naruto's back. It was comfy at the moment and she really didn't want to move.

"Really?" Naruto asked with a frown. "You sure?"

"Enough to risk opening them," Suzue offered.

"Alright, we'll open them," Sasuke decided as he pulled out the scroll he had. "Where's your scroll, Dobe."

"In my jacket pocket," Naruto answered as he turned so Sasuke to get at said pocket. Said jacket was currently wrapped around Suzue as Naruto informed her that she was still too cold to be without it when she tried to give it back. "Inside one."

Sasuke fished the scroll out before handing it to Naruto. They held the scrolls out.

"On three," Suzue prompted. "One, two, three!"

They pulled open the scrolls and stared at the seal inside. The Sasuke's eyes widen and threw his scroll away from him taking a step back while yelling at Naruto, "It's a summoning jutsu! Drop the scroll!"

Naruto obeyed, throwing the scroll towards were Sasuke had tossed his. There was a swirl of smoke and a tall figure appeared.

"Hey," Iruka-sensei greeted with a smile. "Long time no see."

"Hi, sensei," Suzue greeted back when neither boy said anything.

"Looks like you guys had trouble," Iruka noted as he took in their appearance.

"You could say that," Suzue agreed before Naruto burst out with, "Why was Iruka-sensei summoned?!"

"At the end of this second exam, it's set up so we chunin meet up with the exam takers. And I was allowed to be the one to greet you," Iruka explained.

"Really?" Naruto blinked.

"Yep! And you three made good time too," Iruka grinned at them. "You still have three days left. So the second exam, all three of you pass, congratulations. To celebrate your successful completion of the second test...I'd like to buy you a round of ramen but..."

Suzue's only warning that Naruto was about to move was the tensing of his muscles. The next things she knew, Naruto was wrapped around Iruka, her knees digging into the older man's stomach as she clung to Naruto in an effort not to fall off.

"We did it!" Naruto screamed as Sasuke snapped, "Dobe! You almost dropped Suzue!"

"I'm fine," Suzue protested as Naruto promptly let go of Iruka in a panic to check on Suzue.

"You alright? You're not any more pain, right?!"

"No, fine," Suzue answered. "Just stop moving. And I think I might have bruised Iruka-sensei's stomach."

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked as he stopped moving and peered at the man.

"I'm fine," Iruka reassured. Then looked at Suzue. "Though, why are you carrying Suzue-chan?"

"Because she couldn't move without pain," Naruto answered.

"Fine now. Naruto-kun's just comfy, when he's not trying to hug people," Suzue admitted with a flush.

"Oh? Did you two get-"

"Don't you dare finish that," Sasuke growled. "There are no discussions of anything like that in this team."

Iruka blinked at Sasuke in surprised before looking back Naruto who was glaring back at Iruka as if daring him to finish.

"Alright," Iruka nodded. "I'm glad the three of you are getting along."

"Thank you," Suzue muttered into Naruto's hair.

"Was there anything else? Or can we see a medic now?" Sasuke asked Iruka, pulling them back onto topic.

"No, there is more," Iruka answered. "And even though the three of you pass. If you seek medical treatment before the five days are up, then your team will be disqualified."

"What?! Why?" Naruto demanded. "You said we passed."

"Well, I believe it was said that one of the rules was that all members of the team had to be well enough to enter the tower. It's taken that if you need an actual medic then that member is unwell and breaks that rule."

"That sucks," Naruto grumbled before glancing at Sasuke. "What do you think?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke huffed while eyeing Suzue.

"I can live. I just need sleep," Suzue answered his unspoken question. Even though the smart move would probably to drop out of the exam at this point. Sasuke needs his seal taken care up as soon as possible and Suzue wasn't in much better shape with hers. But she could see it in the boys. And even she felt. They had put way too much into this exam all ready to just quit if there was even a remote possibility of continuing. She was sure it was the wrong way to think about it, but...even she wanted to see how far she could get in this thing.

"We can forgo a medic until the exam is over," Sasuke answered for them as they turned back to Iruka. "Now, what more did you have to say about this exam?"

"If the three of you are sure," Iruka asked with a frown. He sighed as all three of them nodded before going into lecture mode.

"I'm here to explain this motto on the wall that was written by Hokage-sama. The 'Heaven' in this paragraph refers to the human mind. And the 'Earth' refers to the human body. 'If you lack heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared.' That's basically, for example, if Naruto's weakness is his brain. 'Gain knowledge and prepare yourself for the mission. If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages.' So if Suzue's weakness is stamina, then it's saying that you must continue to train hard. And if you have both Heaven and Earth, you can succeed in even the most dangerous missions. So basically, all missions become safe and easy."

"Suzue does not lack Earth," Sasuke huffed as Naruto nodded along. "She trains more than either of us."

"Really? And you managed to keep such high scores in class too. I always loved reading your answers. They were interesting," Iruka praised.

Suzue felt herself flush and grip Naruto a little harder as she ducked her head a little. Just what about her answers had Iruka found interesting?

"Hehe, Suzue-chan's totally awesome!" Naruto added on with a grin. "That's why we're Team Awesome! Even if Teme's on the team."

"Don't you mean even though you're on it?" Sasuke threw back.

"No! It's you! Definitely you!"

"Naruto, Sasuke," Iruka started only to have Sasuke talk over him.

"You're the one that got eaten, twice."

"It was only once! The plant doesn't count!"

"Tch, totally does."

"Boys," Suzue said when it became apparent that they weren't going to be listening to Iruka. Naruto froze with his mouth open with a response while Sasuke turned his whole attention towards her. "I don't think Iruka-sensei's done yet."

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei," Naruto offered with a sheepish chuckle. Sasuke just lets out a grunt and crossed his arms over his chest as he turned his attention to their former teacher.

Iruka was giving her an odd look that had Suzue ducking her head behind Naruto's again. Which was awkward because she was taller than the blond.

"As I was saying about the motto," Iruka finally continued. "The words represent a chunin. I'm sure you're wondering what the missing word is. Its 'person'. So the last sentence goes, 'These rules will guide a person's extremes'. This test of survival was to test the exam taker's basic abilities needed to become a chunin. And you guys successfully pass that! Chunin's are at the rank of military captain. You have the responsibility of a team. The knowledge, stamina, and inner wisdom; all are needed for your duties. I want you guys to challenge the next stop with this chuunin motto in mind. That is all that I have to pass on to you."

"Roger!" Naruto shouted with a salute and grin. It got a little awkward as Iruka stated at them with sad eyes. Even Naruto picked up on it as Suzue could feel him wilt under her.

"But this third and final test," Iruka started with his sad face. "Don't push yourselves too hard. Especially you Naruto. I worry about you the -"

"From the moment I received this Konoha hitai-ate, I'm no longer an academy student! There is no need to worry!" Naruto declared, stunning Iruka. "And this is the symbol that I am all grown up, right?! I'm not a kid anymore. Now...I'm a ninja!"

Silence fell as they all took in Naruto's speech. Then Iruka gave a small smile.

"I see, I'm sorry Naruto."

"Besides, I have Suzue-chan and Sasuke-Teme with me! We can totally take on anyone!" Naruto declared.

"I guess, if Suzue and I are pulling your weight," Sasuke noted.

"What was that?!" Naruto snarled spinning to the other boy.

"Erg, I'm going to throw up on you Naruto-kun," Suzue whined as her world spun.

"Ack! Sorry, Suzue-chan! Iruka-sensei! Is there someplace we can stay until the end of the test?" Naruto pleaded as he turned to their former sensei.

"Yes, there are rooms you can stay in. I'll show you them and the kitchen you can get food from," Iruka confirmed. He led them to a kitchen first where Naruto created a clone to steal all the ramen when Iruka had his back turned. Suzue and Sasuke shared a look and she saw him swipe some other things so they were eating just ramen until the test was over. Then Iruka led them to a small room that was just big enough for three small beds and a small bathroom attached to it. The girl wondered if he realized they had just stolen food from the kitchen. Was it stealing when it was free?

"You three," Iruka started before leaving. He was back to frowning. "I know you decided not to seek medical help at this time. But you are free to seek it at any time if you find that you need one."

"But we'll be disqualified," Sasuke stated with his own frown.

"Yes, but it is important that you three take care of yourselves. This exam is not worth your health."

"We'll keep it in mind, Iruka-sensei," Suzue offered when it seemed like either of the boys might argue that point. "Thank you for worrying about us, but we'll be fine."

"...Alright. Good luck you three. I'll see you later," Iruka said before leaving them. Team Seven watched the now closed door for several seconds before Naruto let out a huge sigh.

"Man, I'm so glad to be out of that forest!"

"I think we all are," Suzue noted as she let herself slump a little over Naruto's back.

"Hey! Hey! Think we could push the beds together? And sleep like that?" Naruto asked, bouncing a little.

"...Sure, we need to set up guard rotation as well. Suzue how are you really?"

"Exhausted," Suzue muttered. "Achy. But the pain is mostly gone. I don't know if it's from the pain meds or because it faded though."

"Do you want me to put you down now, Suzue-chan?"

"Probably for the best," Suzue grumbled as she let herself slide of the blond's back. She winced as her body protested the move. Noticing Sasuke was watching her like a hawk, she informed him, "I'm stiff from staying in one place for so long."

"Teme! Help me move the beds," Naruto ordered.

"Have a clone do it," Sasuke snapped back even as he walked over to help Naruto move the beds. Rolling her eyes at the boys who started arguing about something, Suzue did a couple of slow stretches that helped a little. Really, she was pretty sure she just needed sleep. Maybe some food first.

"Hey," Naruto started after he and Sasuke had moved the beds together. "Shouldn't we have told Iruka-sensei about the Snake Ghost attacking us."

Suzue started as her mind blank for a moment. Should they have?

"Um..."

"Probably," Sasuke answered. "But then we would have had to mention the marks and that probably would have gotten us kicked out of the exam."

"Would that be such a bad thing? Both of them are still hurting you, right?" Naruto asked, a serious look on his face as he eyed both of his teammates.

"That would mean you'll be kicked out too," Sasuke pointed to Naruto who scowled at him.

"What if I don't care about that?!" Naruto snapped at him. "I would much rather you two be okay. And we could always take the exams again like that Kabuto guy. And it would mean we'll still be a team for sure."

"Yeah, but we're here now. And I don't want to give up, after all, we've gone through to get here," Sasuke threw back.

"Besides, Kabuto-san was lying about taking the Exam so many times," Suzue announced as she moved into another stretch.

"What? What do you mean, Suzue-chan?" Naruto asked, blinking in surprise.

"It's just that..." Suzue started, pausing to gather her thoughts. "Yes, there is a Chunin Exam every six months but they rotate through each of the major villages. And I think a minor village sometimes hosts it too but I'm not as sure about that."

"So he could have," Sasuke started pointing out but trailed off as Suzue shook her head as she stood up from her stretch.

"Not when you factor in politics," Suzue countered as she took a seat in one of the chairs tucked in a corner with a small table. "The only major village we would send ninja too for the exam is Suna. Konoha has an alliance with them but the other three villages? Iwa would use the exam to kill all of the ninja Konoha sent to them, same in reverse if they sent ninja here."

"Konoha would?" Naruto started looking at both teammates.

"Yes, Konoha would kill any Iwa ninja that was sent to an exam we hosted. Not outright, but in the process of the exam? None of them would make it out alive," Suzue explained. "Konoha isn't all sunshine and flowers. We do have a dark side. You'll see it more when you become Hokage, Naruto-kun."

Naruto made a face as he processes this information. "Why though?"

"Didn't you pay attention at all in the Academy?" Sasuke questioned making Naruto glare at him. "It's because of the Third War. Konoha is the reason that Iwa's ninja population was cut down to a quarter of what it was. That's the reason the war ended. Iwa just didn't have the manpower to continue it. It was thanks to the Yellow Flash."

"Yellow Flash?"

"Fourth Hokage," Suzue answered.

"Oh! Him," Naruto nodded. "I'm totally going to be better than him one day!"

"I'm sure," Suzue acknowledged. "But that's why Iwa's out. Kumo's out for similar reasons. Basically bad blood between their village and ours. Not to mention that Kumo has a history of bloodline theft because they are the village with the less amount of bloodlines in it. Konoha is the village with the most bloodlines followed by Kiri. As for Kiri...I'm not sure any of the other villages actually send ninja to Kiri for the Chunin Exam."

"Because they're in a civil war and it's just dangerous for everyone," Sasuke surmise with a hum. "Kabuto said that he had been taking the exam for four years now right?"

"And that this was his seventh attempt at that Exams. Which is impossible."

"Because he couldn't have gone to all of them, right?" Naruto asked leaning a little towards Suzue.

"Yep."

"So why did he lie to us? Was this even his second attempt at the exams?" Naruto frowned as he crossed his arms.

Suzue bit her lip as she thought about what to say. Due to the knowledge from her past life, she knew way more about Kabuto than she should, but she had no reason to know what she knew about him. But there were conclusions she could use. Just how to put it into the right words...

"I...Almost want to say he's a plant," Suzue finally said.

"Like the ones in the first exam?" Sasuke asked.

"Sort of?" Suzue shrugged. "Those ninja cards of his bother me."

"Yeah, totally! Which...why did you lie to Kabuto-san about our information anyways?" Naruto questioned.

"Because I didn't trust him? He was lying to us," Suzue sighed. "He...he has a lot of information that I'm not sure he should have access to. And that's just based on the four cards he showed us. Granted the info he showed us about the Chunin Exams probably wasn't that hard to get or that secret either. That information he had on Gaara of the Sand, like that he's never been hurt on a mission? How would he have gotten that information?"

"It would have to be from medical records. Or lack thereof?" Sasuke mused out loud. "Though now that I think about that piece of information sounds more like a rumor than actual fact."

"You're right, it does," Suzue nodded in agreement.

"So..." Naruto drawled out. "If he's a plant...what's his purpose?"

"To gather information?" Sasuke guessed. "Actually, that makes sense to have a plant in the exams who can pretend to be one of the testers and gather information on others. Especially on the ninja from other villages."

Suzue blinked, "That makes sense. Didn't think on that."

"Doesn't explain why he lied to us, but it's an answer to why he's in the exam," Sasuke shrugged. Then he gave Suzue a look. "What was your point in bring up the reason Kabuto lied to us in the first place."

It took Suzue a long moment to recall why they had even gotten on this topic in the first place. "Oh, yeah. Basically, that taking the Exams again will be a lot harder than we think?"

"Huh? Because we have to wait until Suna hosts them or Konoha does again?" Naruto guessed.

"Yeah, pretty much. And there is an age limit of 21 to even be in the exams."

"Wait, there is?"

"It was on our application, Dobe," Sasuke pointed out.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted at the other boy before a look of horror formed on his face. "Wait, does this mean that I won't be able to move up in rank if I don't become Chunin by 21?"

"No, there are other ways to become Chunin, besides taking the Chunin Exams," Suzue sighed. "My sister became Chunin without taking the Exams even once. But...there's, um, a prestige to taking them and become a Chunin? If you manage to become a Chunin from the Exams then expect to become famous or at least well-known."

"Then I totally have to win this thing and become a Chunin!" Naruto declared, suddenly fired up.

"So, we aren't mentioning the marks until the Exams are over," Sasuke decided.

"But what about Suzue-chan? She can't even use chakra. Won't she need it to finish? And how much more do we have to go through?" Naruto asked, serious once more.

"I'm pretty sure there's only one more Exam and it'll be a tournament type Exam. Basically, we'll be fighting one-on-one with the other testers in an area for show. I think we have a break in between to prepare for them too. So we can report the marks and see about getting them taken care of once this Exam is over," Suzue answered.

"Really?"

"How do you know so much about the Exams?" Sasuke questioned at the same time as Naruto.

"...My brother took them a few years ago? I remember him complaining about how the last Exam made him feel like he was being shown off to old rich men one of whom asked he wanted to come home with him and give up his career as a ninja."

"What?" Naruto blinked. "Why would someone ask that?"

"Someone actually asked him that?" Sasuke sneered in disgust.

"Yeah..."

"I don't get it," Naruto groaned.

"Basically my brother got a binding proposal," Suzue explained.

"Wait, isn't that like a marriage?"

"Yes, Dobe. But between two people of the same sex."

"Eww, from an old dude? That's not going to happen to us is it?"

"Don't know," Suzue shrugged. "I guess it could...but we are younger than Toshi-nii is too."

"I'm also pretty sure it's illegal for our age with civilians," Sasuke pointed out.

"There is that too."

"Well, we'll just have to protect each other and keep all the creepy old men away!" Naruto declared.

"Women too," Suzue added. "My uncle routinely complains about a noblewoman who keeps trying to get him to join her harem."

"Yeah, let's just avoid everyone that's a civilian," Sasuke decided. There was a twitch in his eye and Suzue wondered in someone had asked him to join their harem at some point. She could see it happening.

Then the door burst open and three Naruto's walked in with arms full of ramen.

"Foods here!" one of the Naruto's declared as they dumped their loot on the small table. A lot of it spilled on to the floor as they tumbled around.

"Great! Thanks, guys!" Naruto grinned as he bounced over to the table.

"You bet, Boss!" All three Naruto's said before bursting into smoke.

"Let's eat! I'm starving," Naruto announced as he started going through the ramen. If Suzue didn't know better, she thought he might be organizing them.

"Hey, Dobe, how are you going to boil water in here for them?"

"Um..." Naruto sheepish laugh as he paused in pawing through the ramen. "I don't know?"

Both Suzue and Sasuke sighed before getting to work figuring out how to boil water in their room.

* * *

Author Notes: Sorry again for taking so long to get this up. But it's hard to find the time when you're working 50-60 hour a week. Finally back to a normal 40 hour week at work so hopefully I'll start updating on a regular bases again. Though I'm currently really pissed at work to the point that I'm very tempted to just quit. I would except I've decided to move in about six months so I should just stick to this job until I move. So I am quitting, just not for another six months...Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and such. I'll try to be better about replying to them now. Also, thank you to everyone who favorited and followed this story. I hope everyone is having a better day than I am and a good week to come.


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